How do I prevent my children from re-downloading apps on my iPhone (iOS 12.3.1)

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8 points

How do I prevent my children from re-downloading apps on my iPhone (iOS 12.3.1)

My children have access to my iPhone and iPad and downloaded several free garbage apps from the App Store. They need to use the devices for school is I cannot separate them entirely. However I would like to make it impossible for them to download new software and re-download the old garbage when I'm not looking, perhaps through an additional password. Preferably on all my devices. Is this possible? The Parental restrictions menu in Settings don't seem to have this option.

Thank you for any and all help.

iPad, iPadOS 13

Posted on Oct 31, 2020 1:47 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Jeff_W.

Community Specialist

Nov 4, 2020 12:12 PM in response to ryszard83

Hey there ryszard83,

We understand you're trying to block apps from being downloaded on the devices your children use. We'll be happy to help.

To do this, we'll want to use the Screen Time feature set up with a passcode. Check out this article: Use Screen Time on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch

Specifically, the section "Set a Screen Time passcode" will be useful.

Once you have that enabled, go to: Settings > Screen Time > Content & Privacy Restrictions

From there, "iTunes & App Store Purchases" and "Allowed Apps" may be useful.

We hope this helps. Cheers!

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Answer 2

ryszard83 Author

Level 1

8 points

Nov 15, 2020 12:04 PM in response to Jeff_W.

I think I'm missing something. I've set up the passcode and blocked the Appstore alongside several apps (including the Camera and the Safari browser). But now all those icons are gone from my phone, so I'm not able to e.g. browse the Internet. I would have hoped for a simple prompt to ask me for the passcode whenever I tried launching any of the blocked apps, not disable them completely.

Additionally I've tested turning the Screen Time option off (which thankfully does require the passcode) which returns all the missing icons as expected. However turning it on again reveals that all of the options have been reverted to default ones. This seems ridiculous, as it would that mean every time I needed to use any of those apps I would have to go to the settings and turn Screen Time off, then after giving the phone to my children I would have to turn the option on again, set up the passcode and toggle all of the options to blocked. There must be a more streamlined way, right?

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How do I prevent my children from re-downloading apps on my iPhone (iOS 12.3.1)

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