What changed
Apple is adding two content descriptors to the age rating questionnaire in App Store Connect. From November 16, 2026, the questionnaire will ask you to declare whether your app includes:
- 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 the user in sexual or romantic content.
These are declarations, not automatic rating bumps for everything. The two descriptors behave differently:
| Descriptor | Effect on minimum age rating |
|---|---|
| Dating and Relationships | Minimum 18+ |
| Shared Location | May have no impact on the minimum rating in some regions |
Brazil is the exception called out in the announcement. Local regulations there require an A16 rating for Shared Location and an A18 rating for Dating and Relationships.
If you believe your app deserves a lower Brazilian rating — Apple’s own example is location sharing built specifically for parents and children — you can request an official rating directly from Brazil’s Ministry of Justice and Public Security (MJSP / Ministério da Justiça e Segurança Pública). Once that rating is verified, it is the one shown on the App Store in Brazil.
Who is affected
Anyone with a live app is affected in the sense that the questionnaire now has two more questions, and Apple wants them answered for every app by the January deadline. But the answers only change your rating if the features actually exist.
You likely need to declare Shared Location if your app sends a user’s real-world position to another person or to a group. That covers obvious cases like friend finders and family locators, and less obvious ones like live delivery tracking, crew or team coordination, and social features that drop a pin for others to see. Read the wording literally: sharing of real-world location with another person or group. Location that never leaves the device, or that only goes to your own backend for analytics, is a different situation from location another human can see.
You likely need to declare Dating and Relationships if your app matches people romantically, hosts dating profiles, or includes an AI or virtual companion that engages the user in romantic or sexual content. The second half of that definition matters more than it used to — a companion chatbot with romantic framing falls inside it even though nobody is being matched with a real person.
If neither feature exists in your app, you still have to answer the questions. You will just answer no.
What you need to do
- Audit your current build for both features. Search for every code path that transmits coordinates to another user or group, and every screen that creates romantic or dating connections. Include features behind flags, paywalls, or regional gates — reviewers see them, and so does the questionnaire.
- Open the age rating questionnaire in App Store Connect. It lives with your app’s information, and it is edited separately from a build, so you do not need a new binary just to change an answer.
- Answer both new questions honestly. The declarations are required when you submit an app update or when you make changes to the questionnaire, so the next submission you make will surface them anyway.
- Check the resulting rating before you submit. If you declare Dating and Relationships, expect a minimum of 18+. Confirm the rating shown in App Store Connect matches what you expect to appear on the product page.
- Handle Brazil separately. If your app declares Shared Location, the Brazilian storefront rating is A16 unless you obtain an official MJSP rating. If your location feature is genuinely aimed at families — parent-to-child, for example — it is worth requesting that official rating rather than accepting A16 by default.
- Update your marketing and support copy if the rating moves. A jump to 18+ affects who can download the app and how it is presented, so tell your support team and check any store listing text that mentions an age range.
- Get every app in your account done before the deadline. The January date applies to all apps, not just the ones you plan to update. Old apps sitting untouched in the account still need the declarations.
Key dates
- November 16, 2026 — the new content descriptors appear in App Store Connect’s age rating questionnaire.
- January 12, 2027 — all apps must have the Shared Location and Dating and Relationships declarations completed.
FAQ
Does declaring Shared Location push my app to 18+?
No. Apple states that Shared Location may not affect the minimum age rating in some regions. The hard 18+ floor applies to Dating and Relationships. Brazil is the exception, where Shared Location carries an A16 rating under local regulation.
My app only shares location between a parent and a child. Do I still declare it?
If your app shares real-world location with another person or group, the descriptor applies and you should declare it. What you can do is pursue a lower Brazilian rating: Apple points to family-oriented location sharing as exactly the kind of case where you can request an official rating from Brazil’s MJSP, and that verified rating replaces the default on the Brazilian App Store.
Do I need to upload a new build to answer the new questions?
The age rating questionnaire is part of your app’s information in App Store Connect and is edited independently of a binary, so you can complete the declarations without shipping a build. The announcement does tie the declarations to app updates and to changes you make to the questionnaire, so if you have an update in the pipeline, answer the questions as part of that submission rather than leaving them for later.