Apple is adjusting its App Store policies to make it harder for minors to use online dating apps or AI companions that engage in “sexual or romantic content,” the tech giant shared in notification developers on Monday.
The new rules follow other changes the company has made to better protect minors, including age verification technology being rolled out globally. more features for parental control and child safety.
While most major dating services typically limit their platform to adults, Apple’s new policy will require all apps offering dating or romantic relationship features to be rated 18+. Starting Nov. 16, developers will be required to include new content descriptors to ensure their app’s age rating reflects its features, the company said.
Perhaps more interesting is how this rule might affect companion AI applications or those where such a feature is one of many features. Often aimed at younger people, Character.AI, Replika and other AI apps allow people to create AI companions, including boyfriends, lovers, boyfriends and girlfriends, and other fantasy characters.
xAI also last year launched 3D animated AI companions that allowed users to unlock NSFW options. As of last summer, the top AI companion apps in the Apple App Store and Google Play had been downloaded 220 million times worldwide.
In addition to “dating and relationships,” apps will also have to state as part of their functionality whether they share a user’s actual location with another person or group. Any app that does this raises obvious privacy concerns, especially if the user was unaware that their location was being shared.
The company noted that in Brazil, apps that provide 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 an A16 rating as required by local law.
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