Apple is changing the App Store’s age-rating system. Starting November 16, 2026, developers will have to disclose whether their apps include “Shared Location” or “Dating and Relationships.” Apple says every App Store app has to comply by January 12, 2027. Any app with dating features will now be rated at least 18+, including traditional dating apps, apps that connect real people for romantic relationships, and virtual companions that include romantic or sexual interactions. The company says the goal is to make ratings line up more closely with app content and local law.
For shared-location apps, Apple says the rating may depend on the region rather than being raised worldwide. In Brazil, those apps require an A16 rating, while dating and relationship apps require A18. Developers who want a lower rating there will have to appeal to the Ministry of Justice and Public Security. The move follows Apple’s July 2025 ratings expansion and its July 2026 addition of social-media questions tied to iOS 27 Time Allowances. It also arrives as virtual companion apps pulled in $162.8 million across the App Store and Google Play in the first half of 2026. Even so, a few obvious questions are still hanging there: how self-reporting will be checked, what happens when developers miss the deadline, how Apple will handle inaccurate declarations, and why major platforms still haven’t responded.
If you publish apps, or you manage what younger users are allowed to install, keep an eye on this one. Apple says these declarations will be made through App Store submissions in its developer tools.
Author: Jesús Bosque
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