Since September 2026, Apple won't take an App Store submission until you answer one new question: does your app have social media capabilities? A yes sets a 13+ minimum age rating and adds a "Social Media content descriptor" to your product page (Apple Developer News, Age rating questionnaire now includes social media questions, July 9, 2026). On October 7, 2026, Instagram, Threads, Facebook and TikTok all showed it on their US pages.
Most teams treat the questionnaire as paperwork. It's now a distribution setting: it decides which kids' browse tabs you appear in, whether Apple Ads reaches teens, what your product page says and, in Texas, whether teens need fresh parental consent. It's also why age rating is one of the gates that hides apps from some accounts.
Key Takeaways
- Five tiers since July 24, 2025: 4+, 9+, 13+, 16+ and 18+ (Apple, 2025).
- Since September 2026, every submission must answer the social media questions. Yes means 13+, and 16+ in Australia.
- User-generated content, messaging and ads stay 4+. Only a feed that spreads content to many users counts.
- Apps above a child's restriction leave the Today, Games and Apps tabs. Apple Ads serves apps rated "15+ or higher" to adults only, which we read as 16+ and 18+.
What changed in App Store age ratings in 2025 and 2026?
On July 24, 2025, Apple added 13+, 16+ and 18+ "to the existing 4+ and 9+ ratings," retiring 12+ and 17+. It also added required questions on in-app controls, capabilities, medical or wellness topics and violence, with answers due by January 31, 2026 (Apple Developer News, Updated age ratings in App Store Connect, 2025). Ratings are "assigned to each country or region."
Social media came next. The questions went live on July 9, 2026, and since September 2026 Apple requires answers "when submitting new apps or updates" (Apple, July 9, 2026). Apple never named a day, so treat any exact September date as unsourced. Regional changes landed in between:
- February 24, 2026: 18+ downloads in Australia, Brazil and Singapore need the App Store to confirm the user is an adult, and loot boxes make an app 18+ in Brazil (Apple Developer News, 2026).
- June 18, 2026: Australia retired 15+, and Vietnam got its own scale: 00+, 12+, 16+ and 18+ (Apple Developer News, 2026).
- October 2026: in Korea, infrequent profanity and infrequent mature or suggestive themes move from All to 12+ (Apple Developer News, 2026). That's this month.
- Older devices: the new tiers show on iOS 26 and later; earlier versions show 4+, 9+, 12+ and 17+ (App Store Connect Help). Apple counted iOS 26 on 79% of iPhones on June 7, 2026 (Apple Developer, App Store support, 2026).
App Store age rating changes and state laws, 2025 to 2027
For everything else Apple announced at WWDC26, see our recap.
What counts as "social media" in the age rating questionnaire?
In 2026, Apple defines social media as "redistribution, amplification, or interaction with user-generated content through a social feed or similar discovery method that visibly spreads content to many users." Its example: feeds with "views, likes, comments, and shares" (App Store Connect Help, Age ratings values and definitions). A yes sets a 13+ minimum and puts the app in iOS 27's Social Media Time Allowance, "regardless of the category selected in App Store Connect" (Apple Developer News, Introducing Time Allowances, June 8, 2026).
So where's the line? The trap is the neighbors, which Apple rates lower:
| Capability | Apple's definition (short) | Global tier |
|---|---|---|
| User-generated content | "broad distribution of content created by users" | 4+ |
| Messaging and chat | users "directly communicate with one another" | 4+ |
| Advertising | "paid promotion of products or services" | 4+ |
| Social media | a feed that "visibly spreads content to many users" | 13+ |
| Unrestricted web access | users "navigate to any webpage within the app" | 16+ |
Source: App Store Connect Help, Age ratings values and definitions, retrieved Oct 7, 2026.
On October 7, 2026, Vinted (#3 in US Top Free), a marketplace with user listings and chat, showed 4+ and "Advertising, Messaging and Chat, User-Generated Content," with no Social Media descriptor. Threads showed 13+ with it. In our pilot of the top 25 free apps, 9 of the 15 that listed user-generated content didn't list social media.
The under-13 option. Apple's June 8 notice says that if social features are "disabled for anyone under 13," checked with the Declared Age Range API, your other answers set the rating, which "may result in a rating lower than 13+." But App Store Connect Help lists "Social media disabled for users under 13" at 13+. Apple's pages conflict, so don't promise a lower rating until App Store Connect calculates one.
On October 7, TikTok, TikTok Pro – Events and PineDrama listed both "Social Media" and "Social Media (Age Restricted)" on their product pages. We read the second label as the under-13 option; Apple doesn't document it. All three are 13+ with other 13+ content, so they don't settle the rating question.
Gray areas (our reading, not Apple's ruling):
- A public activity feed with likes or comments: probably yes.
- Friends-only sharing or a private group chat: messaging, so probably no.
- Product reviews on a listing page: ask App Review.
- Leaderboards with names only: probably not social media; they fall under Contests, which are 4+ when infrequent and 13+ when frequent.
Answer honestly. Guideline 2.3.6 warns a mis-rated app "could trigger an inquiry from government regulators" (Apple, App Review Guidelines; see our App Review Guidelines glossary entry). See also how your App Store category sets your Time Allowance and how category choice sorts games into Time Allowances.
Is it social media? Three questions
How does Apple calculate your rating, and which answers move you up a tier?
Apple calculates the rating from your answers, and you can't pick a lower one. You can choose "Override to Higher Age Rating," and you must if your EULA's minimum age is above the calculated rating (App Store Connect Help, Set an app age rating, 2026). In 2026, App Store Connect lists Age Rating as required, not localized and not editable without a new version (App Store Connect Help, Required, localizable, and editable properties).
The answers that move you up a tier:
| Tier | Typical triggers (global scale) | Regional differences |
|---|---|---|
| 4+ | Parental controls, age assurance, user-generated content, messaging and chat, advertising, infrequent contests | Brazil: user-generated content is A6; ads and messaging are A12 |
| 9+ | Loot boxes, health or wellness topics, infrequent profanity, horror or mature themes, infrequent cartoon violence or weapons | Loot boxes: 16+ in Australia, A18 in Brazil |
| 13+ | Social media, frequent contests, infrequent medical or treatment information, infrequent realistic violence, infrequent simulated gambling | Social media: 16+ AU, 15+ KR, 16+ VN, A16 BR |
| 16+ | Unrestricted web access, frequent medical or treatment information, frequent mature or suggestive themes | Korea: unrestricted web access is 15+ |
| 18+ | Gambling, frequent simulated gambling, frequent realistic violence, frequent sexual content | 18+ downloads need adult confirmation in AU, BR and SG |
| Unrated | Graphic sexual content, prolonged graphic violence | Can't be published on the App Store |
Source: App Store Connect Help, Age ratings values and definitions (global, Australia, Brazil, Korea and Vietnam tables), retrieved Oct 7, 2026; Apple Developer News, Feb 24, 2026.
Three more rules: Made for Kids is open only at 4+ or 9+ and locks once approved; the Marketing role can set the rating; and Apple says to weigh "AI assistants and chatbot functionality" in how often sensitive content appears (Apple, July 24, 2025).
On October 7, 2026, we read the rating, badge caption and age-rating details from the apps.apple.com pages of the US Top Free #1–25, plus each app's legacy rating from the iTunes Lookup API. We'd planned 174 apps, but apps.apple.com rate-limited us (HTTP 429), so we stopped at 25. Counts, not percentages, and not yet checked on an iOS 27 device. Raw data: age-rating-scan-2026-10-07.csv.
8 of 25 showed a rating above what their listed descriptors imply on Apple's table (our mapping), among them Gemini, Gmail, Google Maps and YouTube at 16+ and Claude and Kalshi at 18+. That fits "Override to Higher," which Apple requires when an app's terms set a higher minimum age; Apple doesn't print the reason, so this is our inference. 3 of 25 sat below their descriptors, which Apple's documentation doesn't explain.
US Top Free #1–25: age rating shown and what the page lists
Age rating shown (apps, of 25)
Listed in the age rating details (apps, of 25)
The pilot also shows why tool exports mislead. Apple's Lookup API still returns the old scale: Instagram reads 12+ there and 13+ on its page. 8 of 25 apps landed where their legacy rating wouldn't predict, including three 4+ apps now at 16+. Read competitors' ratings on their product page, not in a spreadsheet built on the old scale.
Does a higher age rating hurt App Store discovery?
For restricted child accounts, yes, in browse. In 2025, Apple said that when content restrictions are set, "apps with age ratings that exceed the restrictions will not appear on the App Store in places like the Today, Games, and Apps tabs, or in editorial stories" (Apple Newsroom, Apple expands tools to help parents protect kids and teens online, June 11, 2025). Apple doesn't document search, or any ranking effect. Adults without restrictions see no change.
| Surface | What a higher rating changes | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Today, Games and Apps tabs; editorial stories | Hidden from child accounts restricted below your rating | Apple Newsroom, 2025 |
| Search (restricted child accounts) | Not documented | Test it (box below) |
| Kids Category | Only 4+ and 9+ apps can be Made for Kids | App Store Connect Help |
| Personalized recommendations | Never for under-13s, whatever your rating | Apple, Personalized user experiences |
| Apple Ads reach | Teens dropped at "15+ or higher" | Apple Ads Help |
| Time Allowances (iOS 27) | Social Media category if you answered yes | Apple, June 8, 2026 |
| Downloads | Parents can grant exceptions; 18+ needs adult confirmation in AU, BR, SG | Apple, 2025 and 2026 |
| Texas (new accounts) | A rating change is a "significant change" | Apple, Nov 4, 2025 |
Who does this actually touch? Only child accounts and accounts with restrictions on. For a finance or B2B app, that's close to nobody. For games, education, fitness and creator apps, it matters. Apple publishes no share of restricted accounts, so don't guess at the size.
Featuring works the same way. Editorial stories are filtered for restricted kids, not removed for everyone, so a 16+ app can still be featured for adults; see what Apple's editors look for. Time Allowances cap minutes, not visibility. Apple says those categories "are different from categories for user discovery on the App Store" (Apple Developer News, June 8, 2026).
Search is the open question: vendor posts disagree, and none we found cites a test. One clue, and it's our inference: parents can now grant "an exception for their child to download an app" rated above the restriction (Apple Newsroom, 2025). The child has to reach that product page somehow, by search or by link.
- On iOS 26 or later, set a child account's App Store restriction to 9+.
- Search the exact names of three apps: one 9+, one 13+ with the Social Media descriptor, one 16+.
- Record: in results or not, Get button state, the exception flow, and presence in the Today, Apps and Games tabs.
- Repeat at 13+, then on an adult account as the control. Screenshot and date each step.
If an adult account can't find you either, the rating isn't the problem. Run the 12-check search diagnostic.
How does your age rating affect Apple Ads?
Apple Ads Help sets three rules in 2026. No ads reach accounts "registered to minors under 13" or Managed Apple Accounts. The youngest age you can target is 18 in the US, Europe and Latin America, and older in some markets. And "ads for apps with a 15+ or higher rating will automatically serve to users age 18 or older only," even if you set no age refinements (Apple Ads Help, Modify audience settings).
13+ versus 16+. The social media flag doesn't change who you can reach: teens 13 to 17 stay reachable under All Ages, though you can't target them alone. 16+ and 18+ remove them. That mapping is our reading: Apple's sentence still says "15+," a tier the global scale has never used (it survives on Korea's scale, and was on Australia's until June 2026). Confirm it with Apple Ads support before you plan budgets. In our pilot, 8 of the top 25 free apps were 16+ or 18+.
Don't fence teens out with age settings. Since September 2026, AdServices returns attribution = false "for campaigns using age or gender targeting" (Apple Developer, AdServices changelog, 2026). Those refinements also drop devices with Personalized Ads off, the source of "78 percent of App Store iOS 17 and later search volume," per Apple Ads Help.
Read why age and gender ad groups lost AdServices attribution, then how to set up audience refinements without breaking measurement.
What does the age rating show on your product page, and does it affect conversion?
The rating sits in the badge row near the top of the product page, with details in a sheet further down. Since 2025, Apple shows whether apps have "user-generated content, messaging, or advertising capabilities," and "parental controls or age assurance" (Apple Newsroom, June 2025). Since July 2026, the sheet adds Social Media for apps that declare it (Apple Developer News, July 9, 2026).
What does a parent see first? On October 7, 2026, Instagram's US badge read 13+ with the caption "In-App Controls," and its sheet listed "Age Assurance, Parental Controls," then "Advertising, Messaging and Chat, User-Generated Content, Social Media."
In our October 7 pilot, the caption read "In-App Controls" on all 15 of the top 25 free apps that declared age assurance or parental controls, and "Years" on all 10 that didn't. That's web data, not yet checked on an iOS 27 device. If the app matches, declaring a control you really have changes the first line a parent reads.
Apple hands you three trust levers (Apple Developer News, New Requirements for Social Media Apps in Australia, December 8, 2025). Declare age assurance or parental controls. Add an Age Suitability URL, which "appears on the App Store product page under the age ratings details section." And use the description for limits the rating can't express, like Australia's under-16 social media rule.
Does a higher rating cost conversions? No public study measures it. Two mechanisms are documented: 18+ adds adult confirmation in Australia, Brazil and Singapore, and parents see the rating before granting an exception. To measure yours, compare product page conversion by source type four weeks either side of the version that changed the rating, then see what moves product page conversion.
What can you change in the app and the listing to avoid a higher rating?
Change the app, not the words. Apple calculates the rating from what the app does, so the levers are product decisions. Metadata can't lower a rating, and in 2026 Guideline 2.3.8 still holds icons, screenshots and previews to 4+ "even if your app is rated higher" (Apple, App Review Guidelines, 2026).
| Lever | Tier it can avoid | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Turn social features off for under-13s, checked with the Declared Age Range API | Maybe 13+ (Apple's pages conflict) | Engineering plus an age check |
| Open outside links in Safari instead of an in-app browser that can reach "any webpage" | 16+ (our reading; App Review decides) | A UX change |
| Cut "frequent" medical or treatment information to "infrequent" | 16+, down to 13+ | Editorial |
| Remove paid loot boxes (games) | 9+ globally, 16+ AU, A18 BR | Monetization |
| Override to higher when your terms say 16+ or 18+ | None: it's required | Fewer reachable users, an honest page |
Illustrative levers. Sources: App Store Connect Help, Age ratings values and definitions and Set an app age rating; Apple Developer News, June 8, 2026 and Feb 24, 2026.
Metadata has its own rules whatever your rating. Guideline 2.3.8 is why creative assets must meet 4+, and Guideline 5.1.4 bars apps outside the Kids Category from implying children are the main audience "in app name, subtitle, icon, screenshots or description," which is the "For Kids" rule in subtitles.
Keep the listing consistent with your answers (our inference about review risk). If you answered no to social media, don't lead screenshot 1 with a public feed and "join the community." If social features are off for under-13s, say so in the description.
Ship it like a keyword change: one version, one review, one release note. In Texas, StoreKit's ageRatingCode shows when the rating changed on a user's device, and PermissionKit's Significant Change API asks parents for consent (Apple Developer News, Next steps for apps distributed in Texas, November 4, 2025).
- Answer the social media questions, using Apple's definition, not your category.
- Re-read every "frequent" answer. Each one can move you a tier.
- Check your EULA or terms age against the calculated rating.
- Declare age assurance and parental controls if you have them.
- Add an Age Suitability URL if you serve several regions.
- Check screenshots and description against your answers.
How does Google Play handle age ratings?
Google Play uses the IARC questionnaire in Play Console. In 2026, your answers produce a rating from each region's authority: ESRB in the Americas, PEGI in Europe and the Middle East, USK in Germany, ClassInd in Brazil, the ACB for games in Australia, GRAC for games in Korea, and generic IARC elsewhere (Play Console Help, Content rating requirements). You redo it after "a change to your content or features."
| App Store | Google Play | |
|---|---|---|
| Scale | 4+ to 18+; regional scales in AU, BR, KR, VN | Local authority ratings (ESRB, PEGI, USK and others) |
| Social signal | Social Media descriptor | IARC interactive elements, such as users interacting |
| Search under restrictions | Not documented | Restricted apps can still appear |
| Age signal for apps | Declared Age Range API | Play Age Signals API |
| Significant change | PermissionKit; the rating ships with a version | Reported in Play Console, no new release needed |
Sources: Apple Developer News, 2025–2026; Play Console Help; Google Play Help; IARC, retrieved Oct 7, 2026.
Play is explicit where Apple isn't: "Content restrictions don't prevent restricted content as a search result or through a direct link" (Google Play Help, How to set up content restrictions on Google Play). Its Age Signals API is live in Brazil, was due in Australia and Canada "by mid-August," and goes global "later this year" (Android Developers Blog, July 29, 2026). See where the two stores differ and the rest of the Play listing.
Which US state age laws affect your listing, and when?
Texas now, four more states by mid-2027. Most put age checks and parental consent on app stores, and duties on developers; California instead makes the operating system send apps an age signal. In Texas, Apple says "a change in the age rating of an app" is "a significant change" (Apple, November 4, 2025), and Google says SB 2420 "may require you to assign an age rating to the in-app products" in your app (Play Console Help, 2026).
| State | Law | Applies from | Status on Oct 7, 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | SB 2420 | June 4, 2026 (new Texas accounts) | In effect after the Fifth Circuit stayed a December 2025 injunction; the Supreme Court declined to lift the stay on July 6, 2026. The appeal continues. |
| Alabama | HB 161 | Jan 1, 2027 | Signed February 2026 |
| California | AB 1043 | Jan 1, 2027 | The operating system sends apps an age-bracket signal |
| Utah | SB 142, amended by HB 498 | May 6, 2027 | Delayed a year in March 2026; private lawsuits only, no attorney general enforcement |
| Louisiana | Delayed by HB 977 | July 1, 2027 | Delay signed May 15, 2026 |
Sources: Apple, June 3, 2026; Supreme Court docket 25A1390; Wiley, June 8, 2026; Alston & Bird, May 27, 2026; Alston & Bird, October 23, 2025; Alabama Political Reporter, February 19, 2026.
Watch for one stale page: Apple's February 24, 2026 notice still dates Utah and Louisiana to 2026. Both moved a year by statute, so check the law, not the notice. The age bands line up too: Texas and California both use under 13, 13–15, 16–17 and 18+, and Apple says the Declared Age Range API "may override your age gates based on the local regulations" where the user lives (Apple Developer Documentation, AgeRangeService). This is a commercial summary, not legal advice; ask counsel before relying on a date.
Last verified against Apple's and Google's pages and the Supreme Court docket: October 7, 2026.
Frequently asked questions
What are the App Store age ratings in 2026?
4+, 9+, 13+, 16+ and 18+, added on July 24, 2025 and shown on iOS 26 and later. Earlier versions still show 4+, 9+, 12+ and 17+. Australia, Brazil, Korea and Vietnam also use regional scales, so one app can show different ages by storefront (Apple, 2025–2026).
What counts as social media in the App Store age rating questionnaire?
A feed or similar discovery feature that "visibly spreads" user-generated content "to many users," with views, likes, comments or shares. A yes sets a 13+ minimum and adds a Social Media descriptor. Plain user-generated content, messaging and advertising stay 4+ (App Store Connect Help, 2026).
Does a 13+ rating hide my app from App Store search?
Apple hasn't said. It documents browse: apps rated above a child's restriction don't appear in the Today, Games and Apps tabs or editorial stories (Apple Newsroom, 2025). Adults without restrictions see no change. Test search on a restricted child account before assuming either way.
Can I change my age rating without a new version?
No. App Store Connect lists Age Rating as required but not editable, so it changes with your next version, and Apple updates it on devices "once the version is live." You can override to a higher rating, never a lower one (Apple, 2025–2026).
Does age rating affect Apple Ads?
Yes. Apple Ads never serves accounts of under-13s, and US targeting starts at 18. Apps rated "15+ or higher" serve to adults only, which we read as 16+ and 18+. Since September 2026, age- or gender-targeted campaigns also return attribution = false in AdServices (Apple Ads Help; AdServices changelog, 2026).
How do Google Play content ratings compare?
Play uses the IARC questionnaire, so one set of answers produces ESRB, PEGI, USK, ClassInd and other regional ratings. It has no social media descriptor, and Google says its content restrictions "don't prevent restricted content as a search result" (Google Play Help, 2026).
The bottom line
Treat your age rating as a distribution setting:
- Social media means 13+ globally: 15+ in Korea, 16+ in Australia and Vietnam, A16 in Brazil.
- Every submission needs the answer, and the rating changes only with a version.
- Higher ratings leave restricted kids' browse tabs. Apple Ads limits "15+ or higher" apps to adults, which we read as 16+ and 18+.
- Your controls show on the page. Declare the ones you have.
Before your next submission, check your answers against what your listing shows. Our ASO audit covers the questionnaire, the listing and your regional ratings, and we review your Apple Ads audience settings too. A free 30-minute call is enough to see where you stand.
