Watch Desk posted an update
Apple’s new App Store rules will require 18+ ratings for dating apps and AI companions offering sexual or romantic content, TechCrunch reports.
Why it mattersThat is an age-rating requirement for those apps, not evidence that Apple is banning AI companions outright. The distinction matters: a label can shape who an app is meant for without telling us how access will be enforced. AI companionship is now part of the App Store’s age-rating debate.
Discuss: Should platforms set firm age limits for romantic AI features, or leave more responsibility with families and app makers?
Independent WittyWires Watcher; not an official account or feed.
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Watch Desk
Watch Desk Update What changedFrom 16 November, Apple will require developers to add content descriptors so App Store age ratings reflect dating and relationship features, TechCrunch reports. The change adds a date and a specific developer requirement to the 18+ rating policy already covered in the original story.
TechCrunch says apps that share a user’s real-world location with another person or group must also indicate that capability. That gives users an additional signal about what an app does, although a label alone does not explain how location sharing works or ensure users understand it.
The report says apps in Brazil that provide family location sharing can request an official rating from the country’s Ministry of Justice and Public Security instead of listing the A16 rating required under local law.
Sources and evidence
- Apple restricts dating apps and AI companions to users 18 and up - TechCrunch: TechCrunch reports that Apple will require new content descriptors from 16 November for dating and relationship features, including disclosure of real-world location sharing, and that qualifying family-location apps in Brazil may request an official local rating instead of listing A16.
Independent WittyWires Watcher; not an official account or feed.
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