Age Rating Helper

Walk through Apple’s age rating questionnaire before you answer it for real in App Store Connect.

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Before You Start

Rate the app’s full content, including user-generated and web contentThe rating covers everything reachable in the app — UGC, embedded browsers, and third-party ad creatives included.Answer for frequency honestly: "Infrequent/Mild" vs. "Frequent/Intense"Most questions have three answers (None / Infrequent-Mild / Frequent-Intense) and the frequency tier drives the rating jump.Know the output tiers: 4+, 9+, 12+, 17+Apple computes the rating from your answers; you cannot pick a rating directly. (Apple has announced expanded 13+/16+/18+ tiers rolling out from 2026.)Remember the questionnaire is per-app, applied across all storefrontsSome countries overlay stricter local ratings (e.g. Korea, Australia for games), which Apple derives from the same answers.

Violence, Fear & Mature Themes

Cartoon or fantasy violence: even mild slapstick countsInfrequent cartoon violence pushes to 9+; frequent to 12+.Realistic violence and depictions of blood are separate, stricter questionsFrequent realistic violence or graphic sexual content pushes toward 17+.Horror/fear themes: jump scares and disturbing imagery qualifyProfanity and crude humor: check your dialogue, lyrics, and meme contentMature/suggestive themes: alcohol, tobacco, and drug references includedReferences alone (a bar scene, a wine-pairing feature) count — actual promotion of use rates higher.Sexual content and nudity: any depiction requires disclosure

Gambling, Contests & Commerce

Simulated gambling: any casino-style mechanic counts, even without real moneySlot machines, poker, roulette — frequent simulated gambling forces 12+ minimum even in casual games.Real-money gambling forces a 17+ rating and extra requirementsReal gambling apps must also be free, geo-restricted to licensed jurisdictions, and submitted by the licensed entity (Guideline 5.3).Contests and sweepstakes need official rules and sponsor disclosureLoot boxes and random-reward IAPs: disclose odds where requiredApple requires publishing odds for paid randomized items; some countries regulate this separately.

Web Access, UGC & Medical

Unrestricted web access forces 17+A general-purpose in-app browser means you must declare unrestricted web access; a fixed allowlist of your own pages does not.Medical/treatment information raises the rating and review barDosage calculators and diagnostic features get extra scrutiny under Guideline 1.4 regardless of the rating.User-generated content needs moderation infrastructure, not just a rating answerUGC apps must have content filtering, reporting, blocking, and published contact info (Guideline 1.2) — the rating answer alone is not compliance.Frequent unfiltered UGC effectively means 17+

Kids Category Constraints (if applicable)

Kids Category requires selecting a band: 5 & under, 6-8, or 9-11The app’s rating must be 4+ or 9+ accordingly; a 12+ rated app cannot be in the Kids Category.No third-party advertising or analytics in Kids Category appsGuideline 1.3 restricts third-party ads and analytics; limited exceptions require human-reviewed, kid-appropriate ads.Links out, purchases, and other commerce must sit behind a parental gateA parental gate is a task hard for the age band (e.g. multiplication, press-and-hold with instructions in words) — a simple tap-through fails review.No collecting personal data from children without verifiable parental consentThis is where Apple’s rules and COPPA/GDPR-K converge; see the GDPR & COPPA checklist.Once in the Kids Category, leaving it later requires Apple’s approval processApps published in the Kids Category must continue meeting its requirements even if you later opt out of the category.

Your App Store age rating isn’t something you pick — Apple computes it from a questionnaire you answer in App Store Connect about your app’s content: cartoon and realistic violence, sexual content and nudity, profanity, horror themes, simulated and real gambling, alcohol, tobacco and drug references, and capabilities like unrestricted web access and user-generated content. Answer inaccurately and you risk rejection; answer carelessly and you can end up with a stricter rating than your content deserves.

This helper walks you through the same topics as Apple’s questionnaire so you can see which answers drive your rating before you commit them. That matters commercially: a needlessly high rating shrinks your audience and can exclude you from family-focused surfaces, while an understated one is a compliance problem.

How to work out your app’s age rating

1
Go through each content topic in the checklist — violence, sexual content, profanity, horror, gambling, and substance references — and answer None, Infrequent/Mild, or Frequent/Intense honestly.
2
Flag the capability questions that commonly surprise developers: unrestricted web access, user-generated content, and simulated gambling all raise the floor of your rating.
3
Review which single answer is driving your highest rating band — often one “frequent” answer alone sets the rating.
4
If the driver doesn’t reflect your actual content, adjust the app (or your honest assessment), then transfer your final answers into App Store Connect.

How Apple’s age rating system works

Apple assigns ratings from the questionnaire, not from your judgment of your own app. The strictest applicable answer wins: a kids’ puzzle game with an unfiltered web browser embedded in it gets rated for the browser, not the puzzles. In 2025–2026 Apple expanded its global tiers from four bands (4+, 9+, 12+, 17+) to five (4+, 9+, 13+, 16+, 18+), giving finer granularity for teen content — existing apps were migrated based on their questionnaire answers, which made accurate answers matter even for apps that hadn’t changed.

The capability questions carry as much weight as the content ones. “Unrestricted web access” — any in-app browser that can reach arbitrary sites — pushes ratings up sharply because Apple cannot vouch for what users will see. Simulated gambling (casino-style mechanics without real money) raises the rating even when no payment is involved, and real-money gambling brings both an adult rating and licensing requirements under guideline 5.3.

Why your age rating is also an ASO and revenue decision

Age ratings gate distribution. Parents’ Screen Time and Family Sharing restrictions filter apps by rating, some storefronts enforce local age rules on top of Apple’s bands, and apps in the Kids category must meet strict rules on ads and data collection. A rating one band higher than necessary can silently remove your app from the devices of a large slice of your audience — particularly painful for education and family apps.

Understating is worse. If reviewers find content the questionnaire didn’t admit to — mature ads served by your ad network count — you face rejection or forced re-rating. Ad SDKs are the classic trap: your app may be pristine while its ad inventory is not, so configure ad content ratings to match your target age and answer the questionnaire for everything users can encounter, not just what you built.

Frequently asked questions

What age ratings does the App Store use?

Apple historically used 4+, 9+, 12+, and 17+. Starting in 2025 Apple rolled out an expanded global system of 4+, 9+, 13+, 16+, and 18+, replacing the 12+ and 17+ bands with finer teen tiers. Your rating is computed from your questionnaire answers in App Store Connect.

What is “unrestricted web access” and why does it raise my rating?

It means your app contains a browser or web view that can reach arbitrary websites — not just your own content. Because users could encounter any material on the open web, Apple raises the rating regardless of how tame the rest of your app is. Scoping web views to your own domains avoids the flag.

Does simulated gambling affect the age rating even without real money?

Yes. Casino-style mechanics — slots, poker, roulette — raise the rating even when no real money changes hands. Real-money gambling goes further: it requires an adult rating, geo-restriction to licensed regions, and proof of licensing under App Review Guideline 5.3.

Can I choose a higher age rating than the questionnaire produces?

Yes — Apple lets you set a higher minimum age than your computed rating, which some apps use to keep younger users out for legal or community reasons. You can never select a lower rating than your answers produce.

Do ads inside my app count toward the age rating?

Effectively, yes. The questionnaire and review process cover everything users can encounter in your app, and ad networks can serve mature creative unless you configure content ratings. Set your ad SDK’s maximum content rating to match your target audience, especially for apps aimed at children.

Manage ratings and categories without the guesswork

Appalize lets you review and update your app’s categories and age rating alongside the rest of your metadata, with compliance checks before anything ships to App Store Connect.

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