Apple will require an 18+ rating for dating apps and AI companions that offer romantic or sexual chats
Developers must start declaring the features Nov. 16; every app must comply by Jan. 12.
Apple will soon make it harder for teenagers to download AI companion apps that engage in romantic or sexual conversations, the Cupertino company told app makers this week.
AI companions are chatbots built to act as a friend, partner or fictional character that users talk with, sometimes for hours a day. Popular examples include Character.AI and Replika. TechCrunch reported that such apps are often aimed at younger people.
Starting Nov. 16, developers filling out Apple's age-rating questionnaire in App Store Connect, the system they use to submit apps, must say whether their app includes "Dating and Relationships" features. Apple defines that as features that connect real people for dating or relationships, or a virtual companion that engages a user in sexual or romantic content. Any app that says yes gets a minimum rating of 18+.
Apps must also answer a new question about whether they share a user's location with other people.
Developers must answer the new questions with their next app update. Every app must have them completed by Jan. 12, 2027.
Apple's age ratings work with its parental controls, which can block downloads of apps rated above a child's age. In New York, Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a law Oct. 28 that bans unsafe AI chatbot features for users under 18.
Source: Apple Developer announcement, Nov. 2, 2026; TechCrunch; New York governor's office.