Parents' Guide to iTunes and the App Store

It’s easy to make sure your kids are matched up with age-appropriate content. Here are some ways to manage their activity.

Some apps and games offer in-app purchases, which are optional transactions that change an app's functionality. Depending on your password settings, once you enter your password to make an in-app purchase, you can make additional in-app purchases for 15 minutes without re-entering your password. However, you can change your device settings to require a password with every purchase or use Touch ID. Just open Settings, tap General, then tap Restrictions. From there, enable Restrictions, then tap on Password Settings to set your preference. Within Restrictions, you can also turn off the ability to make in-app purchases entirely.

The simplest way to make sure you always know what your child downloads is to not share your password with them. Instead, enter your password or use Touch ID yourself for each download and purchase. For children 13 or older, you may want to consider helping them create their own Apple ID. This lets you set separate controls for what they can download and purchase, without impacting your own access on devices you share.

Setting up a payment method that works for your family is simple too. If you don't want to put a credit card on file when you're creating your child's Apple ID, you don't have to. Instead, you can give them a set amount of money by sending them an iTunes Gift, which they can redeem on the App Store. (See the Spending Limits section below for more info.) And if you’re using Family Sharing, you can create Apple IDs for younger children all the way up to age 18 without giving them unrestricted access to your credit card or using an iTunes Gift.

Give your children a set amount to spend on the App Store by sending an iTunes Gift. They’re available in a variety of denominations, so you can apply a specific amount of credit to a kid’s Apple ID any time you want. To purchase iTunes Gifts on an iOS device, tap your profile icon in the App Store, then tap Send Gift Card by Email.

On an iOS device, Restrictions make it easy to limit the content your children can access. This means you can block explicit content and restrict which movies, music, books and apps your children can use based on the content’s age rating.

To enable Restrictions on an iOS device, go to Settings, tap General, then tap Restrictions. There, you can choose to:
• Restrict access to many different types of actions, such as downloading apps, downloading In-App Purchases and more.
• Restrict access to specific apps based on their rating.
• Change settings so that a password is required at every download instead of every 15 minutes.
• Restrict access to music, podcasts and news with explicit content
• Restrict access to movies, TV shows and apps based on their rating
• Restrict books with explicit sexual content

Parents can find a wide variety of age-appropriate content based on age rating listed with each movie, tv show, album/song and book. The App Store makes it easy to find suitable apps for younger users in the children's sections of the App Store. Our Kids category pages cater to specific age ranges (5 and under, 6-8 and 9-11) and feature apps and games that developers have self-identified as being appropriate for those age groups. That way, parents can easily find great apps and games they know are suitable for their children. The age range for each app is also listed on its product page.

To keep your children from accessing your iOS devices without your permission, set up a passcode that you don't share with them. To do that, go to Settings on your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch, then tap Touch ID & Passcode (Passcode on devices without Touch ID), and then tap Turn Passcode On. Once a passcode is turned on, you’ll be prompted for it each time you turn on or wake up your device. No one will be able to access information or apps on the device without entering the passcode first.

With Family Sharing, you can share iTunes, iBooks and App Store purchases with up to six people in your family. All purchases initiated by family members will be billed to the family organiser, who can also create Apple IDs for kids under 13 and add them to the family group. And with Ask to Buy, you can give kids the freedom to make their own choices while still controlling your spending. Whenever a family member initiates a new purchase or free download, a request goes to the organiser. The organiser can review the item and make the purchase or decline the request right from their own device.

Content availability may vary per region.