App Store age rating questionnaire: the two new questions due by January 12, 2027

The App Store age rating questionnaire gets two new yes-or-no declarations on November 16, 2026: Shared Location and Dating and Relationships. Apple's developer announcement says every app must have both answered by January 12, 2027, and a yes on Dating and Relationships sets a minimum rating of 18+. If you make an AI companion, social or location app, the answer is a product decision, so make it before your next update is ready to ship.

Below: each question in Apple's words, who is likely to answer yes, how the deadline fits your release plan, and how Brazil differs. Everything comes from Apple's pages as they read on November 5, 2026.

The two new App Store age rating questionnaire declarations, word for word

Apple's announcement defines the two new content descriptors like this:

• Shared Location: "Sharing of real-world location with another person or group."
• Dating and Relationships: "Features that enable dating or relationship connections between real people and/or a virtual companion that engages a user in sexual or romantic content."

The consequences differ. Apps that include Dating and Relationships "receive a minimum age rating of 18+." For Shared Location, Apple says only that it "may not have an impact on their minimum age rating in some regions", which implies it can in others. Brazil is the one region Apple names.

As of November 5, Apple's age ratings values and definitions reference does not yet list either descriptor, and it gives no examples for them. Until it does, the two sentences above are all the guidance there is, so read them literally.

When do I have to answer the new age rating questions?

From November 16, you answer them the next time you either submit an app update or change your age rating questionnaire. Apple's notice says: "You must provide these declarations when submitting an app update or making changes to your age rating questionnaire. All apps must have these declarations completed by January 12, 2027."

That leaves two cases:

1. You ship an update between November 16 and January 12. The declarations are part of that submission. Decide your answer before the build is ready, not on submission day.
2. You have no update planned before January 12. You still have to complete the declarations by that date. Apple does not say what happens to an app that misses it.

Coverage has blurred the dates. TechCrunch's report says that "starting November 16, developers will be required to include new content descriptors" and does not mention January 12. Apple's wording is narrower: November 16 is when the questions appear and apply to new submissions, and January 12 is the deadline for every app. Plan to Apple's text.

Does an AI chatbot app need an 18+ rating?

Not automatically. Apple's definition covers "a virtual companion that engages a user in sexual or romantic content." A general assistant for writing or coding does not match that description on its face. An app built around a romantic or sexual companion persona clearly does, and a yes means 18+.

The hard cases sit in between: a general chatbot with role-play characters, a "friend" persona that can turn flirtatious, or a companion feature inside a larger app. TechCrunch reports that the change could reach apps where companion features are one of many functions. Apple has not published examples, so we will not guess at where it draws the line. The practical question is whether your app lets a user steer a virtual character into romantic or sexual conversation. If it does, either answer yes and take 18+, or change the product so it no longer does that, and ship the change before you answer no.

Answering no when the honest answer is yes is the bad option. App Review Guideline 2.3.6 tells developers to "answer the age rating questions in App Store Connect honestly so that your app aligns properly with parental controls", and warns that a mis-rated app "could trigger an inquiry from government regulators." Apple's announcement does not say the new descriptors add any age verification requirement.

If you are building in this space, our AI Agents category lists 504 products as of November 5, 2026. Not all of them ship iOS apps, but any companion or chat product that does will need an answer.

Dating and Relationships: who is likely to answer yes

Dating apps are the plain case. Feeld, which titles its site "The Dating App for Open-Minded Individuals", is exactly what "dating or relationship connections between real people" describes. Under the new rules, apps like it get a minimum rating of 18+.

The harder calls are social and community apps with a matching or meet-people feature that is not their main purpose. Apple's wording turns on features that "enable dating or relationship connections", not on the app's category. If one screen in your social networking app exists to pair people romantically, read that as a yes. Then decide whether that feature is worth an 18+ rating for the whole app.

An 18+ rating is not a minor label change. Apple says the age rating supports parental controls, so an 18+ rating matters on every device where a parent uses them. If most of your users are adults, that may cost you little. If teenagers are a real part of your audience, removing or splitting off the dating feature before your next update may be the better call.

Shared Location: the question more apps will answer yes to

Shared Location covers "sharing of real-world location with another person or group." Apple does not say whether showing a user's own position on a map counts. Read literally, the descriptor is about sharing a location with someone else: live location in a chat, a friends map, a meetup feature that shows where you are, or a family locator.

Family safety apps sit squarely here. Qustodio advertises a "Locate family" feature on its site, and Kids360 says parents can "track your child's location". Our Maps & Location category lists 203 products and Family & Relationships lists 211, as of November 5, 2026. Both are categories where this question will come up often.

Brazil A18 rating: both questions carry higher ratings there

Brazil is the exception Apple spells out. The announcement says "local regulations require an A16 rating for Shared Location and an A18 rating for Dating and Relationships."

That hurts one group in particular: location apps built for parents and children, which would otherwise carry an A16 rating in Brazil. Apple's suggested route is to request an official rating from Brazil's Ministry of Justice and Public Security (MJSP). Apple's Brazil age ratings reference says that when the MJSP issues an official rating, "Apple will update your regional rating and/or descriptors on your behalf." Apple's notice says the verified rating then displays on the App Store in Brazil. MJSP sets its own process and timeline, so start early if Brazil matters to you.

How to update the age rating in App Store Connect

Apple's help page lists the roles that can do this: Account Holder, Admin, App Manager or Marketing. The current flow is:

1. In Apps, select the app.
2. In the sidebar, under General, click App Information.
3. Click Set Up Age Ratings below Age Ratings, or click Edit at the top of the page if the app already has a rating.
4. Work through each section of the questionnaire and answer every question. From November 16, this is where the two new declarations will appear.
5. Check the calculated global and region-specific ratings, then click Save.

You can raise your rating with Override to Higher Age Rating, and the help page says you must do so if your EULA sets a higher minimum age. The help page offers no override to a lower rating. In Brazil, Apple points to the MJSP route instead.

If you manage ratings through the App Store Connect API or a release tool, check before November 16. As of November 5, the AgeRatingDeclaration attributes in Apple's API documentation include fields such as messagingAndChat and socialMedia, but none for Shared Location or Dating and Relationships. Watch for those fields before an automated submission depends on them.

What to do before your next release

Answer both questions for your app this week, in writing, with the feature that drives each answer. If either answer is yes, decide whether to accept the rating or change the product, and put that change in the release you will submit after November 16. If you have no release planned before January 12, put a date in the calendar to complete the questionnaire anyway.

If you are launching a new app into this, you can list it on Upfynd for free and say plainly in the listing who it is for.