Apple is tightening its App Store rules to make it harder for minors to access online dating apps and AI companions that offer "sexual or romantic content," the company announced to developers on Monday. These new rules build on other recent steps Apple has taken to protect younger users, including rolling out its age assurance technology worldwide and adding more parental controls and child safety features.

Most major dating services already limit their platforms to adults, but Apple's new policy will require every app that offers dating or romantic relationship features to carry an 18+ rating. Beginning November 16, developers must add new content descriptors so that their app's age rating accurately reflects its features, the company said.

Perhaps more notably, the rule could affect AI companion apps—or apps where companion functionality is just one of many features. Often aimed at younger audiences, apps like Character.AI, Replika, and others let people create AI companions, including friends, lovers, boyfriends and girlfriends, and other fantasy characters. Last year, xAI also launched 3D animated AI companions that let users unlock NSFW capabilities. As of last summer, the top AI companion apps across the Apple App Store and Google Play had been downloaded 220 million times globally.

Beyond "dating and relationships," apps will also need to disclose whether they share a user's real-world location with another person or group as part of their functionality. Any app that does so raises obvious privacy concerns, especially if the user wasn't aware their location was being shared. Apple noted that in Brazil, apps offering location-sharing features for families can request an official rating from the government's Ministry of Justice and Public Security (MJSP/Ministério da Justiça e Segurança Pública) instead of being required to list them with the A16 rating, as local law requires.