Apple is adding a new disclosure requirement to the App Store: developers must declare whether their apps include real-world location sharing, dating, or romantic-interaction features of any kind.

Per MacRumors, the requirement kicks in on November 16, when developers will start disclosing these features so that age ratings can be assigned appropriately. AppleInsider reports that apps have until January 2027 to be fully compliant with the disclosure mandate.

Apple frames the move as a response to increasing global regulation. That tracks with the broader trend: jurisdictions worldwide have been tightening rules around minors' exposure to dating platforms and location-broadcasting features, and app marketplaces are increasingly expected to enforce age-gating at the storefront level rather than leaving it to individual apps.

The practical impact lands hardest on apps whose dating or location functionality is secondary — social apps with meetup features, games with proximity mechanics, messaging tools with live-location options. Those developers now have to self-classify, and the declarations will feed directly into how the App Store rates and surfaces their apps.

For Apple, it's another layer of compliance infrastructure; for developers, it's a hard deadline. The clock starts November 16.