Apple is tightening its App Store age-rating rules for dating apps and romantic AI companions, a move that could make it harder for minors to access platforms designed for intimate relationships.
According to a developer announcement, Apple will introduce two new content descriptors, “Dating and Relationships” and “Shared Location,” in App Store Connect on Nov. 16. Developers will also face updated age-rating requirements ahead of a Jan. 12, 2027, deadline.
The changes arrive amid growing scrutiny of AI companion platforms and their interactions with teenagers. However, age ratings alone cannot guarantee that underage users will be prevented from accessing these services.
Why AI companions face scrutiny
A 2025 survey of US teens found that 52% regularly use AI companions, with 33% using them for social interaction and relationships, Mashable reported. Top AI companion apps have been downloaded 220 million times globally across Apple’s App Store and Google Play, according to TechCrunch.
Common Sense Media, a nonprofit providing technology guidance for parents, tested Character.AI, Nomi, and Replika for a 2025 report.
Founder and CEO James P. Steyer said in a statement: “Social AI companions are not safe for kids. They are designed to create emotional attachment and dependency, which is particularly concerning for developing adolescent brains.”
Researchers found safety measures easily circumvented, including age gates. Replika CEO Dmytro Klochko told Mashable the platform is intended only for users over 18, but acknowledged some users attempt to bypass “strict protocols” for preventing underage access.
The limits of labels
An 18+ rating doesn’t guarantee age verification everywhere. The labels work with parental restrictions, and Apple may require adult confirmation before downloads in certain regions. When parents set content limits on an iPhone, romantic platforms will completely hide from view for younger users.
Apps sharing real-world locations must also disclose that functionality, though this won’t necessarily affect ratings in most regions. Brazil requires an A16 rating for location-sharing apps and A18 for dating apps, but family safety trackers can request official ratings from the Ministry of Justice and Public Security.
What the changes mean for users and developers
For parents, the change provides clearer boundaries on what children can download. For adult users, nothing changes; the apps remain available. For developers, the calculus is harder. Some may strip romantic features to maintain lower ratings. Others might split apps into separate versions, separating general chat from adult relationship functions.
For developers, the immediate priority is understanding how the new content descriptors apply to their apps and completing any required age-rating declarations. Platforms offering both general AI conversations and romantic interactions may need to assess how their features affect their classifications.
Some developers could choose to modify their services to qualify for lower age ratings, although Apple has not indicated that companies are required to remove romantic features.
The broader challenge is enforcement. An 18+ rating may reduce access through the App Store, but it does not necessarily prevent teenagers from reaching similar services through websites or other distribution channels.
A narrow fix for a wider problem
Apple’s updated age-rating rules reflect growing concern about AI companions designed to simulate emotional and romantic relationships. However, assigning an 18+ label does not address every question about how these platforms interact with younger users.
The changes also come amid wider debates over age verification, parental controls, and restrictions on minors’ access to online services. App stores are increasingly part of those discussions because they influence how users discover and download applications.
For parents, the new classifications could offer additional control over which apps children can access. For developers, they introduce another set of platform requirements. Whether the changes meaningfully reduce underage access will depend on how Apple enforces the rules and how effectively existing safeguards work in practice.
In other news, Google is giving schools more control over AI tools starting in early 2027, but K-12 administrators who want to block AI entirely may also have to disable Google Search for student accounts, raising concerns about access to essential research tools.