Apple will give App Store apps with dating features a minimum 18+ age rating. The rule also covers virtual companion apps that engage users in sexual or romantic content. Developers can start declaring these features in App Store Connect on November 16, 2026. Every app must have the declaration completed by January 12, 2027.
What counts as a dating app under Apple’s 18+ age rating
Apple announced the change on November 2 in a developer news post about new age rating content descriptors. Two descriptors are coming: Dating and Relationships, and Shared Location.
Apple defines Dating and Relationships as features that connect real people for dating or relationships. The same label applies to a virtual companion that engages a user in sexual or romantic content. Apple’s announcement states the result in a single line:
“Apps that include Dating and Relationships receive a minimum age rating of 18+.”
Apple uses the term virtual companion, not AI companion. In practice, that points at romance-focused chatbot apps, though Apple doesn’t name any specific app in its post.
What it means for parents and teens
For families, the visible change is the label on the store listing. A romantic companion app will carry the same adult rating as a dating app. That makes the two categories easier to spot before a teen downloads one.
There is a limit worth knowing. The rating depends on developers declaring these features honestly in Apple’s age rating questionnaire. Apple’s post says developers need to declare them, but it doesn’t describe how Apple will check those answers. Treat the 18+ label as a useful signal, not a guarantee.
Apple has been adding other age tools too, such as the selfie-based age check in iOS 27.2. On Android, parents can compare Samsung’s approach, where kids’ apps stay locked until a parent approves them.
Shared Location is the second new descriptor
Alongside dating, Apple is adding a Shared Location descriptor. It applies to apps that share a user’s real-world location with another person or group. Apple says this one may not change an app’s minimum age rating in some regions.
Brazil is the exception Apple spells out. Local regulations there require an A16 rating for Shared Location and an A18 rating for Dating and Relationships. An app that thinks it qualifies for a lower rating there can ask Brazil’s Ministry of Justice and Public Security (MJSP) to rate it. Apple’s example is a location-sharing app built for parents and children. The official rating then appears on the Brazilian App Store.
What developers need to do
The declarations live in the age rating questionnaire inside App Store Connect. Developers must answer the new questions when they submit an app update or change their questionnaire. Every app on the store must have the declarations completed by January 12, 2027.
Source: Apple Developer News
