Apple will rate dating apps and romantic AI companions 18+ on the App Store

Apple is adding a “Dating and Relationships” content descriptor to the age rating questionnaire in App Store Connect, starting November 16, the company said in a developer news post on November 2. The descriptor covers features that enable dating or relationship connections “between real people and/or a virtual companion that engages a user in sexual or romantic content.” Apps that declare it receive a minimum rating of 18+. Developers must answer the new question with their next update, and every app must have it completed by January 12, 2027. In Brazil, local rules set the rating at A18. TechCrunch reported the change on November 3.

For AI companion apps, this is the first time Apple’s rating system names romantic virtual partners directly, instead of leaving them to general categories like “mature or suggestive themes.” The big open question is interpretation. Apple’s post does not say how it will treat general-purpose character apps where romance is one option among many, a companion that flirts only when the user starts it, or apps that switch romantic modes off for younger users. It also does not say whether the rating comes with any age check beyond the store’s existing account settings.

For adults, a clear 18+ label may be the more honest arrangement: it treats romance with a machine as a grown-up pursuit rather than a loophole, the argument we made in The App Store as Chaperone and take further in 18+ by Declaration.