This article may contain affiliate links. Learn more on our Partner Program page.
Apple is expanding its age rating questionnaire once again. Starting November 16, developers must indicate whether their app shares location data or offers dating and romantic virtual companions. Those who answer "yes" to the second question will receive a minimum rating of 18+.
Apple announced the change in a message to developers on November 2nd. The new information is intended to ensure that age ratings accurately reflect an app's features and comply with local regulations.
This means the questionnaire that every app in the App Store goes through will grow even larger. For parents, this ties in with the expansion of parental controls in iOS 27, as age ratings help determine which apps end up on a child's device.
Key Facts at a Glance
- App Store Connect will ask for two new questions starting November 16: "Shared Location" and "Dating and Relationships".
- The information will be required with the next app update or if there is a change to the questionnaire, for all apps no later than January 12, 2027.
- Apps with "Dating and Relationships" categories receive at least an 18+ rating.
- "Shared Location" does not necessarily change the minimum rating in every region; in Brazil, this specification leads to A16.
- In Germany, Austria and Switzerland, the restriction primarily affects children's accounts.
These two pieces of information are added to that
Both of these points are new entries in the age rating questionnaire that developers fill out in App Store Connect. Apple defines them as follows:
- Shared Location: The real location is shared with another person or group.
- Dating and Relationships: The app enables dating or relationships between real people and/or it offers a virtual companion that involves users in sexual or romantic content.
There are 57 days between the start on November 16th and the deadline on January 12th. Anyone submitting an update or changing the questionnaire before then must provide the information by that date.
With its virtual companions, Apple is going beyond dating in the narrow sense. Back in July 2025, when it redefined its age ratings, the company already required developers to consider AI assistants and chatbots in their evaluations. Now, romantic or sexual companions are explicitly included in the definition. However, the 18+ rating is not a free pass: pornography remains prohibited in the App Store, as the recent tightening of the App Store guidelines demonstrates.
Third round in just over 15 months
The questionnaire has changed significantly since summer 2025. Each round introduced new mandatory information:
| Notice | The change | Deadline |
|---|---|---|
| 24.07.2025 | New levels 13+, 16+ and 18+, mandatory questions on in-app controls, features, and health and violence topics | 31.01.2026 |
| 09.07.2026 | Questions about social media features, related to the time limits in iOS 27 | Mandatory for submissions from September 2026 onwards |
| 02.11.2026 | "Shared Location" and "Dating and Relationships" | Submissions accepted from November 16, 2026 onwards, but no later than January 12, 2027 |
The social media questions from July have had a visible consequence: Affected apps display a separate notice on their product page, and this information determines whether an app counts as social media in the time allowances.
Brazil prescribes fixed levels
Apple only provides specific values for a single country in Brazil. There, "Shared Location" leads to level A16 and "Dating and Relationships" to level A18.
This stems from the Brazilian Ministry of Justice's age classification. The report on its guidelines from November 2025 categorizes apps that share data and location as suitable for ages 16 and up. Apps that serve as relationship tools are classified as suitable for ages 18 and up.
There is a possible workaround for parental control apps. The underlying regulation from October 2025 does not include location sharing in child monitoring apps as a criterion. Apple points out that developers can request an official classification from the Department if they believe a lower level is justified, for example, regarding location sharing between parents and children.
Tinder is already set at 18+, Life360 at 4+
The situation in the German App Store varies greatly depending on the function. Four well-known apps illustrate this on November 3, 2026:
| App | Feature | Released in the German App Store |
|---|---|---|
| Tinder | Dating | 18+ |
| Character AI | Chat with AI characters | 18+ |
| Chat, live location | 13+ | |
| Life360 | Location within the family | 4+ |
For a dating app like Tinder, the new rule doesn't change the visible value. The location issue is more interesting because it affects apps that are currently ranked significantly lower.
This information is mandatory for all apps, but according to Apple, it does not necessarily have to change the minimum rating in every region.
Adults in this country notice little, but families do
The 18+ rating has very different consequences depending on the country. Since February, a stricter age verification in the App Store has applied in Australia, Brazil, and Singapore: 18+ apps can only be downloaded there after confirmed adulthood. Apple's overview of age requirements also lists adult confirmation for South Korea, the United Kingdom, and Texas. Germany, Austria, and Switzerland are not on it. For the EU, the EU KIDS Act is a Commission proposal intended to hold app stores more accountable.
I therefore expect that adults in these three countries will hardly notice the change. I primarily anticipate additional notifications on the product page, similar to those already implemented on social media.
The situation is different for children's accounts. According to the same overview, they are mandatory in Germany for those under 16, in Austria for those under 14, and elsewhere for those under 13, which also applies to Switzerland. Parents can use them until their child turns 18. Age-based restrictions apply in the App Store, and if an app exceeds the permitted age limit, children can request an exception.
I consider the virtual companion to be the most important part of the change. Romantic or sexual AI chats don't belong on a child's device, and the 18+ rating now explicitly sets this limit. However, it depends on the developer's information in the questionnaire. Parents should therefore not rely solely on the rating but should check which apps are installed on the device themselves and use the parental control settings.
Sharing location data within the family remains the most obvious option. Parents can also specify their child's age group within the apps themselves, allowing them to filter content appropriately.
Do you think an app that shares your location should even be subject to age restrictions, or is that precisely the reason parents install them for their children? Tell us in the comments how you handle this in your family.
