The App Store is designed to be a safe and trusted place for all ages, including children. The age rating system for apps and games has been updated in order to provide people with more granular age ratings. We’ve also introduced new age rating questions to help identify sensitive content in your app and added the ability to set a higher rating to reflect your app’s minimum age requirement. Ratings for all apps and games on the App Store have been automatically updated to align with this new system and will be reflected on Apple devices running beta versions of iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS Tahoe 26, tvOS 26, visionOS 26, and watchOS 26.
The updated age rating system adds 13+, 16+, and 18+ to the existing 4+ and 9+ ratings. Age ratings are assigned to each country or region and may vary based on region-specific suitability standards.
We’ve introduced a new set of required questions to the ratings questionnaire for all apps. These new questions cover:
- In-app controls.
- Capabilities.
- Medical or wellness topics.
- Violent themes in your app or game.
Your answers to these questions will help Apple better calculate a rating and help you deliver an age-appropriate experience.
If your app has a policy requiring a higher minimum user age than the rating assigned by Apple, you can set a higher age rating after you respond to the age ratings questions. You can view the age rating for each of your apps under the updated system and respond to the new questions for each app in the App Information section in App Store Connect.
As a reminder, you must consider how all app features, including AI assistants and chatbot functionality, impact the frequency of sensitive content appearing within your app to make sure it receives the appropriate rating. All apps are subject to the App Review Guidelines, such as the safety guidelines regarding objectionable content or user generated content, and must abide by all applicable local laws and regulations, like the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (“COPPA”), and the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”).
Please provide responses to the updated age rating questions for each of your apps by January 31, 2026, to avoid an interruption when submitting your app updates in App Store Connect.
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More on updated age ratings in app store
Stay tuned for updates on updated age ratings in app store as the story develops. Related: Upcoming changes to age ratings in Australia and Vietnam – Latest News.
Frequently Asked Questions
Apple added 13+, 16+, and 18+ ratings to the existing 4+ and 9+ ratings for more granular age ratings, and all apps were automatically updated to the new system.
The updated questionnaire adds required questions covering in-app controls, capabilities, medical or wellness topics, and violent themes in the app or game.
Yes, if an app's policy requires a higher minimum user age, developers can set a higher rating after answering the age rating questions.
Developers must respond to the updated questions for each app by January 31, 2026 to avoid an interruption when submitting app updates in App Store Connect.
