Answer the App Store age rating questionnaire from what users can encounter in the submitted app: content descriptors, capabilities, controls, user-generated content, web access, commerce, and chance-based activities. Do not pick a desired age band first and reverse-engineer the answers.
App Store Connect calculates an Apple global age rating and may provide region-specific ratings. An Unrated app cannot be published on the App Store. The first iOS App Store submission guide places this declaration in the full release sequence.
The short version
- Inventory content and capabilities in the production build and its reachable services.
- Choose the frequency or control answer that matches actual exposure.
- Do not treat parental controls as proof that content does not exist.
- Recheck the questionnaire whenever features, feeds, web access, or commerce change.
Understand what the questionnaire does
Apple’s current age-rating setup guide says the questionnaire covers content descriptors, in-app controls, and capabilities. Your answers are translated into a global Apple age rating and additional regional ratings where required.
The questionnaire is a disclosure process, not a marketing audience selector. “Our app is designed for everyone” does not answer whether it includes unrestricted web access, social features, medical information, violence, gambling, or user-generated content.
Apple’s current rating system includes bands such as 4+, 9+, 13+, 16+, and 18+, plus Unrated, with regional differences and details in the live reference. Do not hard-code those labels into product logic without checking platform and regional requirements.
Build an evidence inventory before opening App Store Connect
Ask engineering, product, content, trust and safety, and legal owners for evidence. Review the selected build and production configuration, including remote content.
Inventory:
- bundled text, audio, images, and video;
- user-generated content and messaging;
- social, community, and sharing capabilities;
- embedded browsers and external web access;
- advertising and age targeting;
- medical or wellness information;
- profanity, horror, sexual content, substances, and violence;
- contests, loot boxes, simulated gambling, and gambling;
- parental gates, age assurance, and content restrictions;
- commerce and purchase pathways;
- AI-generated or dynamically retrieved content.
The inventory should state where a feature appears and who can reach it. A hidden admin tool and a public feed do not create the same user exposure, but neither should be ignored without checking the questionnaire wording.
The App Store Connect required-fields guide shows where age rating fits alongside the other app-level declarations.
Answer for possible user exposure, not the happy path
Test more than the onboarding demo. Search feeds, profiles, chat, uploads, recommendations, web views, and edge states. Ask what a user can encounter when safeguards fail or content changes remotely.
For each descriptor, record:
| Evidence field | Example question to answer |
|---|---|
| Source | Is content bundled, streamed, user-created, or linked? |
| Reach | Which users and regions can access it? |
| Frequency | How often can the described content occur? |
| Intensity | What does the user actually see or hear? |
| Controls | Which effective restrictions or parental controls apply? |
| Verification | Who tested the production path and when? |
Do not down-rate an answer simply because the content is not the app’s main purpose. Frequency and capability definitions on Apple’s live age ratings values and definitions page should guide the selection.
Treat capabilities separately from content
Some questions concern what the app can do, not only what its editorial content contains. Current Apple definitions include capabilities such as social media and unrestricted web access, alongside content and chance-based activity descriptors.
An app can contain no mature editorial material and still expose users to external or user-generated material. Check:
- whether links open an unrestricted in-app browser;
- whether users can message or follow one another;
- whether public profiles or feeds exist;
- whether AI output can produce material outside a fixed catalogue;
- whether moderation filters apply before or after publication;
- whether a child account receives a materially restricted experience.
A control should be described as implemented and tested, not merely planned. Keep evidence of the actual production configuration.
Do not confuse age rating with the Kids category
An age rating and placement in the Kids category are related but different decisions. Apple’s setup flow includes age categories and override options, and the Kids category has additional App Review Guidelines.
If you target children, read the current Kids guidance and obtain appropriate privacy and legal advice. Age-rating answers do not replace requirements concerning data practices, advertising, parental gates, or applicable law.
Do not select a lower age band to make the product appear family-friendly. Likewise, do not use a higher rating as a substitute for fixing an undisclosed capability or prohibited behavior.
Use overrides only with a documented reason
App Store Connect may allow an override in specified circumstances, such as a particular age requirement or category context. Follow the current interface and Apple documentation.
An override should not be used to conceal an inaccurate questionnaire answer. Complete the descriptors first, review the calculated result, then document why any available override applies.
If your app has a contractual or regulated age requirement, have the responsible professional review both the in-app age handling and the store declaration. This article is product and submission guidance, not legal advice.
Reconcile the result with the rest of the submission
The rating should not contradict screenshots, description, privacy details, Review Notes, or the running app.
Check for mismatches such as:
- screenshots showing chat while social capabilities are omitted;
- a description advertising an open web search while web access is not reflected;
- loot boxes or contests visible in the app but missing from answers;
- medical advice claims paired with a generic wellness assessment;
- a Kids category choice while unrestricted external links remain accessible;
- AI or user content described as “safe” without effective moderation evidence.
A mismatch may require correcting metadata, questionnaire answers, server configuration, or the build. Choose the action based on the responsible layer.
Revisit the questionnaire on every meaningful update
Age rating is not a one-time launch task. Reassess after adding:
- messaging, profiles, feeds, or user uploads;
- an embedded browser or broader external links;
- AI-generated content;
- contests, rewards, loot boxes, or gambling-like mechanics;
- health or treatment information;
- new media catalogues;
- weaker or stronger parental controls;
- availability in new regions.
Assign an owner and store the evidence date with the release. Apple updates its definitions and operating systems, so verify the live help before publication and before a rule-sensitive submission.
Run a questionnaire review meeting
For a simple utility, one informed owner may complete the evidence. For a social, kids, health, finance, AI, or gambling-related app, bring the relevant product, engineering, safety, and legal owners together.
Use this agenda:
- Confirm the exact version and build.
- Review the capability and content inventory.
- Demonstrate each uncertain production path.
- Compare evidence with Apple’s definitions.
- Record the selected answer and owner.
- Review the calculated and regional results.
- Reconcile product-page claims and controls.
The objective is not group consensus around a preferred rating. It is a traceable answer supported by the app customers can use.
FAQ about App Store age ratings
Can I choose my App Store age rating directly?
You answer Apple’s questionnaire, which calculates the rating. The setup flow may provide override options for specified circumstances, but they do not replace accurate answers.
What happens if the app is Unrated?
Apple’s current help says an Unrated app cannot be published on the App Store.
Does user-generated content affect the rating?
It can affect questionnaire answers about capabilities and content exposure. Review the current definitions and your actual moderation and restriction controls.
Is an age rating the same as joining the Kids category?
No. The Kids category is a separate designation with additional requirements. Check both the setup flow and current App Review Guidelines.
When should I update the questionnaire?
Reassess it whenever content, capabilities, controls, remote services, or regional availability change in a way that could affect an answer.
Conclusion
Do not guess the label. Build an inventory, test possible exposure, answer Apple’s current definitions, and reconcile the result with the full submission.
Your next action is to list every dynamic or user-controlled content surface in the selected build. Those are the places most likely to be missed by a questionnaire completed from memory.