Apple is adjusting its App Store policies to make it more difficult for minors to use online dating apps and AI companions that contain “sexual or romantic content,” the tech giant shared in an announcement to developers on Monday.
The new rules follow other changes the company has made to better protect minors, including the global rollout of age-guaranteed technology and enhanced parental controls and child safety features.
Most major dating services typically restrict their platforms to adults, but Apple’s new policy will require all apps that offer dating or relationship features to have an 18+ rating. Starting Nov. 16, developers will be required to include a new content descriptor to ensure their apps’ age ratings reflect their functionality, the company said.
Perhaps more interesting is how this rule affects AI companion apps, or apps where such functionality is one of their many features. Character.AI, Replika, and other AI apps are often targeted at young people and allow you to create AI companions, including friends, lovers, boyfriends, girlfriends, and other fantasy characters.
xAI also released a 3D animated AI companion last year that allows users to unlock NSFW features. As of last summer, the top AI companion app on the Apple App Store and Google Play had been downloaded 220 million times worldwide.
In addition to “dating and relationships,” apps must also indicate whether they share users’ real-world location with other people or groups as part of their functionality. There are obvious privacy concerns when an app does something like that, especially if users are unaware that their location information is being shared.
The company noted that in Brazil, apps that offer family-friendly location sharing features can request an official rating from the government’s Ministry of Justice and Public Security (MJSP/Ministério da Justiça e Segurança Pública), rather than having to be listed with the A16 rating required by local law.
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