Apple age-rating questionnaire adds social-media capability questions (required from September 2026)

Apple Developer News of 9 July 2026 adds App Store Connect questions on social-media capabilities; answers required from September 2026 for new apps, updates and notarization.
Apple’s Developer News note of 9 July 2026 states that the App Store Connect age-rating questionnaire now includes questions about an app’s social media capabilities. A social media capability is defined as the ability to redistribute, amplify, or interact with user-generated content through a social feed or similar discovery method.
Apps with those capabilities will show a Social Media content descriptor on the App Store product page. The Time Allowance category for Social Media follows those capabilities regardless of the App Store Connect category. If social media capabilities exist but are disabled for anyone under 13, the app is not included in the Social Media Time Allowance category for users under 13.
Submission clock
| Field | Evidence |
|---|---|
| Questions live | From 9 July 2026 |
| Answers required | Beginning September 2026 for new apps, updates, and notarization for alternative distribution |
| Linked OS features | Time Allowances in iOS 27 / iPadOS 27 / macOS 27 or later (referenced in the same note) |
Operator action
Games with friend feeds, clip redistribution or discovery rails should answer the new questions before the September 2026 submission gate. Expect parental Time Allowance and store-descriptor changes where the questionnaire records social-media capability. This record does not invent a universal 13+ floor beyond what Apple states about under-13 disablement and Time Allowance categorisation.
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