From November 16, App Store Connect asks every developer whether an app has dating and relationship features or shares real-world location. Apps with dating features, including AI companions that engage in romantic or sexual content, get a minimum 18+ rating. All apps must answer by January 12, 2027.
If you ship an iPhone app, you have until January 12, 2027 to answer two new questions in App Store Connect: does your app offer dating or relationship features, and does it share a user’s real-world location with other people? Apple announced the change on November 2. Any app that says yes to dating and relationships gets a minimum age rating of 18+, and that includes AI companions that engage users in romantic or sexual content.
What changed
According to Apple’s developer news post, the age rating questionnaire gets two new content descriptors on November 16, 2026:
- Dating and Relationships. Features that connect real people for dating or relationships, or a virtual companion that engages the user in sexual or romantic content. Minimum rating: 18+.
- Shared Location. Sharing a user’s real-world location with another person or group. Apple says this may not change the minimum rating in some regions; local rating rules decide it elsewhere.
The timeline:
| Date | What happens |
|---|---|
| November 16, 2026 | The new descriptors appear in App Store Connect. You must answer them with any app update or any change to your age rating questionnaire. |
| January 12, 2027 | Every app must have both declarations completed. |
Apple’s post doesn’t say what happens to an app that misses the deadline.
Who this hits
TechCrunch reports the rule makes it harder for minors to reach dating apps and AI companions, and notes it could also catch apps where a companion is one feature among many. It names Character.AI and Replika as apps that let users build companions, including romantic partners. Top AI companion apps had been downloaded 220 million times across the App Store and Google Play as of last summer, according to TechCrunch.
AI chat apps need a product decision before January
If your app includes an AI persona, decide now whether it can turn romantic. Apple’s definition covers a virtual companion that engages users in romantic or sexual content. If your assistant, tutor or character app can be steered there, a yes on the questionnaire makes the whole app 18+. That puts it out of reach for teen users and makes school or family use harder. The cleaner path for most products is to block romantic roleplay in the model’s instructions and filters, then answer no honestly.
Don’t wait for January to answer. The questions appear on November 16 and are required on your next update. If you plan a release in late November or December, budget time to review your app’s features against both descriptors before you submit, so the age rating question doesn’t hold up a launch. The same window covers Siri AI’s opening to every developer in iOS 27.3, if you plan to add voice actions.
Location sharing is its own question. Team check-in apps, field-service tools, delivery tracking and family locators all share real-world location with other people. Apple says this descriptor may not move your rating in some regions, but every app still has to declare it.
For parents and IT admins, the rating is the control point. Screen Time and managed-device limits work off App Store age ratings. Once dating and romantic companion apps carry 18+, an under-18 restriction blocks them without a per-app list.