Compiled from App Store Connect & Google Play Console Help on 2026-10-24

App Store Age Ratings 2026: Apple Tiers vs ESRB, PEGI & IARC

Name: App Store Age Ratings 2026
Creator: Shotlingo
Published: 2026-10-24
License: https://opensource.org/licenses/MIT

The 5 Apple age tiers with the closest equivalent on ESRB, PEGI, USK, ClassInd and IARC, and every question in the age rating questionnaires. Click any value to copy. Free, no signup.

Apple tiers and the closest store equivalents

Apple	ESRB	PEGI	USK	ClassInd	IARC	Typical content
						No objectionable material. Utilities, education, most productivity apps.
						Infrequent cartoon or fantasy violence, or mild fear themes.
						Frequent cartoon violence, infrequent mild profanity, simulated gambling, unrestricted social features.
						Realistic violence, frequent profanity, mature or suggestive themes, frequent alcohol or drug references.
						Graphic sexual content, prolonged graphic violence, real-money gambling.

Questionnaire descriptors

Descriptor	Answers	Note
Cartoon or fantasy violence		Stylized violence against fictional characters.
Realistic violence		Violence that depicts real-looking people or animals.
Prolonged graphic or sadistic realistic violence		The highest violence descriptor. Any answer above None pushes the app to the top tier.
Profanity or crude humor		Applies to app content, not to user content you moderate.
Horror or fear themes		Content meant to scare or disturb.
Mature or suggestive themes		Sexual innuendo, provocative imagery.
Sexual content or nudity		Non-graphic depictions.
Graphic sexual content and nudity		Explicit depictions. Drives an 18+ rating.
Alcohol, tobacco, or drug use or references		Depiction or promotion of use.
Medical or treatment information		Health and wellness content that can be mistaken for advice.
Simulated gambling		Casino-style play with no real-money payout.
Contests		Prize-based competitions run inside the app.
Gambling		Real-money gambling. Requires an 18+ rating in Apple's scheme.
Unrestricted web access		An in-app browser that can open any site.
User-generated content		Users can post or share content with others.
Messaging and chat		Users can communicate with other users.
Advertising		The app shows ads, including third-party ads.
Parental controls		The app offers parental controls.
Age assurance		The app verifies the age of its users.

How age ratings work

Rule	Value	Note
Apple age tiers		Five tiers. The older 12+ and 17+ tiers were replaced when Apple revised the questionnaire.
Who sets the rating		You answer the questionnaire in App Store Connect and Apple calculates the tier. You can also set a higher minimum age yourself.
Google Play rating source		One questionnaire issues ratings for ESRB, PEGI, USK, ClassInd and a generic IARC rating at once.
Rating per storefront		The questions are global. Each rating authority displays its own label in its own region.
Unrated apps		Apps without a content rating can be removed from Play and are hidden from some regions.
Screenshots and previews		Marketing images that show content above the declared tier can fail review.

Download the dataset

Use the JSON in your release checklist or CI; the CSV opens in any spreadsheet.

JSON

app-store-age-ratings.json

Machine-readable. Every tier with its equivalents, plus the descriptors.

CSV

app-store-age-ratings.csv

Spreadsheet-friendly. One row per Apple tier.

Embed this reference on your site

Drop the iframe below into any ASO guide or internal wiki. It auto-themes to light/dark.

Age rating table

<iframe
  src="https://shotlingo.com/tools/app-store-age-ratings/embed"
  width="100%"
  height="420"
  style="border:0;border-radius:14px;max-width:960px"
  loading="lazy"
  title="App Store age ratings 2026 (Shotlingo)"></iframe>

Match the screenshots to the rating.

Shotlingo translates your App Store screenshots into 40+ languages and exports at every required size, so each storefront shows a listing that reads natively.

Start free Rejection codes →

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the App Store age ratings?

Apple uses five tiers: 4+, 9+, 13+, 16+ and 18+. You do not pick one from a list. You answer a questionnaire about violence, language, themes, gambling and social features in App Store Connect, and Apple calculates the tier.

Can I choose a higher age rating than the questionnaire gives me?

Yes. App Store Connect lets you set an age override that is higher than the calculated rating. You cannot set a lower one.

How does an Apple age rating map to ESRB, PEGI and IARC?

The table above shows the closest equivalent for each tier. It is a guide, not an official mapping, because each store computes its rating from its own questionnaire and the answers do not carry over one to one.

Does Google Play use the same age tiers as Apple?

No. Google Play shows the rating of the local authority through IARC: ESRB in North America, PEGI in Europe, USK in Germany, ClassInd in Brazil, and a generic IARC rating elsewhere.

Does the age rating change what I can put in screenshots?

It limits them. Screenshots and previews should show content that fits the declared tier. An app rated 4+ whose screenshots show realistic violence is a common rejection reason.

When should I redo the questionnaire?

Redo it whenever you add chat, user content, ads, web access or gambling features, and whenever Apple or Google revises the questions. Both stores ask you to confirm your answers when they change.

Sources & Changelog

Sourced from App Store Connect Help and Google Play Console Help. Maintained independently. The equivalents are the closest match per tier, so confirm the final rating in each store console. Related: categories and storefronts.

2026-10-24: Initial dataset published: 5 Apple age tiers with the closest ESRB, PEGI, USK, ClassInd and IARC equivalents, plus 19 questionnaire descriptors.