What changes when Apple adds location sharing and dating descriptors to age ratings?

Two new questions appear in the questionnaire

App Store Connect already asks developers to describe content such as violence, gambling, or user-generated material. Beginning in mid-November 2026 the questionnaire adds two more items. The first is Shared Location, defined as the sharing of real-world location with another person or group. The second is Dating and Relationships, defined as features that enable dating or relationship connections between real people and/or a virtual companion that engages a user in sexual or romantic content.

Developers will tick yes or no for each when they submit an update or edit the age rating questionnaire directly. The change is not optional. Every app on the store must have both declarations completed by January 12, 2027.

Dating and Relationships forces an 18+ floor

If an app declares Dating and Relationships, the system assigns a minimum age rating of 18+. That floor applies regardless of other content in the app. Shared Location behaves differently. The announcement says it may not have an impact on the minimum age rating in some regions. The wording leaves room for regional variation without listing which regions treat it as neutral and which do not.

Brazil sets its own thresholds and an exception path

Local regulations in Brazil require an A16 rating for Shared Location and an A18 rating for Dating and Relationships. Those ratings are higher than the global baseline for location sharing. The announcement notes a specific carve-out: if an app provides location sharing specifically designed for parents and children, the developer can request an official rating directly from Brazil’s Ministry of Justice and Public Security (MJSP/Ministério da Justiça e Segurança Pública). Once verified, that official rating will display on the App Store in Brazil. The document does not say how long verification takes or whether the same path exists for other countries with unique rating laws.

The compliance clock starts at submission

The requirement triggers at the moment a developer submits an app update or opens the age rating questionnaire to make any change. A developer who does not ship updates after November 16, 2026 still faces the January 12, 2027 deadline. The announcement does not describe a bulk-editing tool for developers with large catalogs. It also does not state what happens to an app that misses the deadline — whether it is removed, hidden, or simply blocked from future updates.

What the announcement leaves open

The text does not explain how the system treats a virtual companion that engages in romantic content but not sexual content. It does not clarify whether a feature that shares location only with a backend server counts as Shared Location. It does not list the regions where Shared Location leaves the minimum rating untouched. Developers will need to interpret those boundaries when the questionnaire goes live.