How your kids can by-pass the 'Ask to Buy' requirement of iCloud Family Sharing

It's that time of year again when many parents are getting devices ready for their children for the new school year.

While assisting a client to set up Parental Controls on her 11yo child's new iPhone this week, discussion turned to the topic of the 'Ask to Buy' setting in the Family Sharing setup of iCloud.  

This setting allows a parent to remotely authorise (or not) a request from a child who is a member of their iCloud Family, to purchase/download content (even free apps).

In this particular client's case, her child was very keen to get onto the social media platforms that her friends were already on.  

This mum was considering allowing her child on Instagram (as a Private account of course), so we installed it and set up the app so that it is a Private account.  

She was happy that she had control over what other social media Apps her child could download, through the Ask to Buy setting.

But there is a catch to this setting that meant her child could have downloaded Apps or other content without having to ask for permission.  

All parents need to be aware of this 'back door'.

How your child can bypass 'Ask to Buy'

If another member of your iCloud Family has already purchased/downloaded an app, any member of the family (even a child who normally has to Ask to Buy) can also download that same app - without the usual parent authorisation.

This means that, if you as parent have already downloaded Facebook, Instagram or any other app, your children can download the same apps without your permission.  If your older teenager uses Snapchat, the younger members of the family could also download that app without your permission.

How to prevent downloads of apps purchased by others in family

You can prevent your kids from downloading apps purchased by others in the family by 'hiding' those apps in the Purchased area of the App Store.  The person who purchased/downloaded the app must do this 'hiding'. Keep in mind that more than one member of the family may have previously purchased/downloaded the app, so it may have to be hidden in more than one place.

Watch the short video below to find out how to go about 'hiding' apps that you don't want the kids to have access to. This video also talks about how to 'unhide' any apps that you have previously hidden, which (as discussed in the video) was previously only possible using iTunes. A change has occurred since the below video was recorded.

It seems that iOS/iPadOS 15 has fixed the problem with un-hiding apps using your iPad and iPhone.

​This can now be done from Settings -> your-name -> Media & Purchases -> View Account -> Purchase History. For any app that you wish to make available again, you can now choose the Unhide option.

Preventing kids from downloading/viewing iBooks purchased/downloaded by others in family

You can also choose to hide books you have purchased/downloaded from other Family members. On your iPad or iPhone

1. Open the Books app
2. Tap Library
3. Tap the More icon (which is the ...) below the book or audiobook that you want to hide. 
4. Tap Remove.
5. Tap Hide Book or Hide Audiobook.

Unhiding of Books is also done from the Books app (instead of Settings) -

1. Tap Reading Now
2. Tap your profile circle at top right
3. Tap Manage Hidden Purchases
4. Enter your Apple password
5. Tap Unhide​ for any book you want to make available again.

Have you set up Parental Controls on your child's Apple mobile device/s?

​Limiting your child's ability to purchase apps is not the only area of Parental Controls that needs to be set up on your child's device/s. 

Can they view inappropriate websites and content from other areas of the device? 

Are there any limitations on when and for how long they can use the device, and what apps can use up their mobile data?

Apple provides a comprehensive set of parental controls for devices, in the Screen Time area of Settings. 

And iTandCoffee has just published a great new 90-page guide that covers this and more.

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Keeping Kids Safe on the iPad & iPhone (Latest Edition)​​

Learn more

​This 906page guide easy-to-read guide is essential for parents of children who use iPads, iPhones and iPod Touches.

It looks at using all of the latest parental controls that are built into these powerful devices and how to set them up for your child - Screen Time, Content and Privacy Restrictions, Guided Access, Password control, Location tracking and more. 

It also looks at iCloud setup, resolving issues with iCloud accounts in the family, setting up an iCloud Family and how to then control your child's Screen Time setup - remotely - from a parent's device, ways that your child can by-pass your controls and more.

Purchase in digital (PDF) or paperback format.

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Keeping Kids Safe on the iPad, iPhone and iPod touch - Video tutorials 

If you prefer to learn by watching a video, iTandCoffee also has a comprehensive set of video tutorials for parents (similar to the video shown above). 

Check out the set of topics covered by these tutorials

Unrestricted access to the full set of these tutorials is available to our iTandCoffee Club members who have Plus, Online or Premium membership.

​Non-members can purchase access by choosing Add to Cart below. Readers of this article receive a 50% discount on the price shown by using the coupon code 50OFF119 at the checkout.

Keeping Kids Safe on the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch - Video Tutorial Series (30 days' access)

A$30.00 A$20.00

Add to Cart

In this comprehensive tutorial series, we look at how to set up and use the built-in Parental Controls of the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch - to help keep your children safer while using these devices. The series also looks at iCloud in families and how to avoid a condition we call 'iCloud confusion', and several other tips that parents will find very handy.

Your purchase of this product gives you 30 days' access to these tutorials. Alternatively, become a Plus, Online or Premium member of the iTandCoffee Club to watch these videos at any time during your yearly subscription period.

Below is the list of topics that arecovered by this tutorial series.

Introduction 

• Introduction to Tutorial Series - Keeping Kids Safe on Apple Mobile Devices
• Introducing Screen Time

Screen Time - Basics

• Downtime
• Set App Limits
• Set a Passcode
• Always Allowed

Content Restrictions

• In App-Purchases
• Allowed apps
• Age Limits
• Websites
• Browsing history private mode
• Stop Siri Talking Dirty
• Game Center​ 

Privacy

• Location Sharing (Part 1)
• Location Sharing (Part 2)
• Screen Time Settings on Parent Device
• Lock down other areas

Allow/Disallow Changes

• Stop changes to Passcode (and Touch ID)
• Stop Account Changes
• Prevent excess mobile data usage
• Set a Volume Limit
• Do Not Disturb
• Background App Refresh

Screen Time - More

• Monitoring usage
• Set Time Limit on a specific App
• Change Screen Time Passcode
• Kids will find a way around restrictions

iCloud in Families

• iCloud Confusion (Don't share an Apple ID)
• Signing out of a shared iCloud
• Create a Child's iCloud Account
• Setting up Ask to Buy family members

Some other tips for Parents

• Can your kids see all your passwords?
• Stopping the kids' apps appearing on parent devices
• Guided Access - Locking a child into a single app

Not yet a member of our iTandCoffee Club?

The iTandCoffee Club is a paid subscription service that unlocks access to all sorts of handy hints, videos, tutorials, guides, special offers, free sessions and more.    

Find out more about The iTandCoffee Club here » ​​

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Upcoming Workshop for Parents

iTandCoffee regularly runs information sessions to teach parents how to set up Parental Controls and Screen Time on Apple mobile devices. These are hands-on workshops that give you all the information you need to 'take back control' of your child's device and usage! See below for details of sessions times and locations. If you don't see a class listed - or would like to organise your own class for fellow parents - contact iTandCoffee at [email protected].

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