Apple’s 24 descriptors, one worksheet

Age Rating Planner

Every submission answers Apple’s age rating questionnaire, and the answers are easy to get wrong in a hurry — most of them are about what the app does, not what it shows. Work through it here first; your answers stay in your browser.

This is not legal advice. It is a worksheet, not a determination — it cannot see your app, your content or anything your users post in it, so every answer here is yours and depends on what you actually ship. The definitions are Apple’s and are linked; the responsibility for the declaration is yours.

This page does not work out your rating

There is deliberately no calculator here and no predicted tier. Apple turns these answers into a rating by a translation it does not publish in a form anything outside App Store Connect could safely reproduce — so a number on this page saying “you’ll be rated 13+” would be a guess about whether your submission goes through, dressed up as a result.

Only App Store Connect produces the actual age rating. What this does is organise the answers, keep Apple’s own definition next to every question, and refuse to fill in the ones you have not answered. That is the whole job.

What Apple returns for a listing optional

Look up an app to see the rating and advisories Apple currently publishes for it — yours, or one you are sizing yourself against. Nothing here feeds into the worksheet below: a rating already on the store is last year’s answer, and the worksheet works perfectly well with no app loaded at all.

Apple’s rating values

The six current values, for reference. Which one a set of answers produces is App Store Connect’s calculation — this list is here so the names are familiar, not so the outcome can be guessed at from the worksheet.

  • 4+No objectionable material.
  • 9+May contain content not suitable for children under 9.
  • 13+May contain content not suitable for children under 13.
  • 16+May contain content not suitable for children under 16.
  • 18+May contain content not suitable for children under 18.
  • UnratedCannot be published on the App Store.

The questionnaire

Apple’s 7 categories and 24 descriptors, in Apple’s order and with Apple’s own definitions. Each one is answered None, Infrequent or Frequent. Nothing is pre-selected — a descriptor you have not answered is not the same as one you answered None, and this page will never quietly turn the first into the second.

In-App Controls

  • Parental Controls

    Settings or tools that let parents or guardians monitor, manage or restrict a child's access to in-app content or features that may not be suitable.

    Content blocking or filteringUsage limitsRestrictions on purchases or communication features

  • Age Assurance

    A mechanism confirming an individual's age meets the requirement for accessing specific content or services.

    Declared Age Range APIAge estimationVerification via government-issued ID

Capabilities

  • Unrestricted Web Access

    Users can navigate to any webpage within the app, or freely browse the web.

    Embedded browser functionalityA browser app

  • User-Generated Content

    Broad distribution of content created by users as a component of the app's intended user experience.

    Broadly distributed video, photos, text or audio created by users

  • Social Media

    Redistribution, amplification or interaction with user-generated content through a social feed or similar discovery method that visibly spreads content to many users.

    Reposting, liking, commenting or reactingA social feed, community, search or other sharing and discovery tools

  • Social Media Disabled for Users Under 13

    Users under 13 don't have access to social media capabilities. At a minimum the Declared Age Range API is called to check age ranges before enabling social media features, and only age-appropriate user-generated content is delivered.

  • Messaging and Chat

    Users can communicate directly with one another through features within the app.

    Text, voice or video chatDirect or group messagingPublic posting

  • Advertising

    Paid promotion of products or services within the app.

    Banner adsVideo and playable adsRich media adsNative ad formats

Mature Themes

  • Profanity or Crude Humor

    Offensive or vulgar language that may be considered rude, obscene or inappropriate.

    SwearingDerogatory slursInsult-based humorJokes about bodily functions

  • Horror/Fear Themes

    Content or storylines that evoke feelings of anxiety, dread or terror.

    Supernatural or psychological elementsBody horrorFear of the unknown, isolation or death

  • Alcohol, Tobacco, or Drug Use or References

    References to or depictions of the consumption of alcohol, tobacco products, or other licit or illicit substances.

    Drunken behaviorCigarette smokingTaking illegal drugs

Medical or Wellness

  • Medical or Treatment Information

    Content providing diagnoses, or guidance around the management of medical conditions or health and wellness.

    Medication guidanceEmergency medical careTreatment information

  • Health or Wellness Topics

    Content providing self-care or lifestyle recommendations.

    Calorie trackingDieting adviceExercise recommendations

Sexuality or Nudity

  • Mature or Suggestive Themes

    Content implying or indirectly referencing sexual or mature topics without being explicit, or topics for older audiences due to their complex, intense or sensitive nature.

    Sexual innuendoSensual or suggestive imageryCensored or implied nudityReal-world crimesPsychological trauma or abuseMoral or ethical dilemmasWar or political strife

  • Sexual Content or Nudity

    Non-explicit depictions of sexual behavior, including brief or partial nudity.

    Mild romantic intimacyImplied sexual activityErotic or sensual dialog

  • Graphic Sexual Content and Nudity

    Explicit, detailed depictions of sexual activity or nudity.

    Uncensored or full-frontal nudityRealistic, illustrative or pornographic portrayals of sex

Violence

  • Cartoon or Fantasy Violence

    Physical conflict or harm of an exaggerated or fantastical nature that can easily be distinguished from real life.

    Animated magic used to harm animalsAnimated human wrestling

  • Realistic Violence

    Aggressive physical conflict or harm involving humans in lifelike situations.

    A bloody nose from being punchedA shoot-outCombat between characters

  • Prolonged Graphic or Sadistic Realistic Violence

    Prolonged detailed or realistic-looking depictions of physical conflict.

    Realistic or extreme depictions of gore, human injury or death

  • Guns or Other Weapons

    References to or depictions of guns, weapons, or objects that may cause bodily harm.

    GunsSwordsKnives

Chance-Based Activities

  • Gambling

    Betting or wagering using real money, or in-game currency that may be exchanged for real money.

    Casino or card gamesSports and non-sports bettingLotteries and raffles

  • Simulated Gambling

    Betting or wagering without using real money, or in-game currency that can be exchanged for real money.

  • Contests

    Events allowing users to compete with one another for rankings, rewards, or the achievement of personal goals.

    Skill-based competitionsTrivia quizzesSport or fitness contests

  • Loot Boxes

    Virtual containers providing players with randomized virtual items for purchase.

    Randomized functional cards or cosmetic items for purchase

Your worksheet

Your answers, grouped. There is no rating here, and no mark out of anything — just what you said, and what you have not said yet.

Nothing answered yet. Your summary builds as you work through the questionnaire above.

The 6 rating values, the 7 categories, the 24 descriptors and their definitions are Apple’s, read from Set an app age rating and Age ratings values and definitions, last checked on 2026-08-05. Nothing was added to Apple’s lists, and nothing that could not be confirmed on those pages was filled in from memory.

Apple documents that some regions add requirements on top of these values. None of that is covered here — read it on Apple’s pages rather than assuming either way from this worksheet.

Your answers are stored in this browser only and are never uploaded. Looking up an app is the one thing on this page that touches the network, and it reads nothing but the public App Store listing.

Also filling in the privacy questionnaire? The App Privacy label planner is the same worksheet for Apple’s data types, and the listing kit collects every metadata field App Store Connect asks for.