How to get the App Store back on my iPhone?

The App Store app is not one of the apps that can be deleted but it can be removed from the Home Screen. Go to the App Library (swipe left past your last Home Screen). From there you can touch and hold an app and slide it to the Home Screen.

Also note the Search window at the top of the App Library.

Another reason for it not being visible is due to a restriction on purchasing. Go to Settings and tap Screen Time, tap Content & Privacy Restrictions, tap iTunes & App Store Purchases, choose a setting and set to Allow. Also see the following Apple Support article for more information: Use parental controls on your child's iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch - Apple Support

I think I have the solution for this. As other folks said below, first turn Content & Privacy Restrictions off completely. (Settings > Screen Time > Content & Privacy Restrictions). Next, restart your phone. The app store then showed up for me. It took that restart to make it work for me.

Also, I was able to turn the Content & Privacy Restrictions toggle back on with no issues. (i.e., The App Store still showed up for me.) NOTE: Make sure that within Content & Privacy Restrictions > iTunes and App Store Purchases you have Installing Apps set to Allow.

So, this looks to be a bug. In the past I'd set iTunes and App Store Purchases > Installing Apps to Don't Allow and have toogled it back to Allow with no problem. However, the last time I did this, when I went back to my Home Screen the App Store was there and then.... it just disappeared -- right before my eyes! Strange.

Btw, I'm on an iPhone 13, version 17.5.1

I followed the above directions. Issue with Apple. My kids used to be able to request app and I could approve, but now the App Store has disappeared if Content & Restrictions is turned on. I then have to immediately turn back on. Annoying, but Apple wants to make it difficult.

Go to Settings and tap Screen Time, tap Content & Privacy Restrictions, tap iTunes & App Store Purchases, choose a setting and set to Allow. Also see the following Apple Support article for more information: Use parental controls on your child's iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch - Apple Support

The fix I found was the button that automatically offloads unused apps, if you turn this function off and re- boot your phone the App Store should re-appear . I did this after turning all restrictions off first . You should then be able to go back in and reinstate your parental restrictions .

I had the same problem where I had downloading apps on but it still wouldn’t appear. I found that if you go to settings>screentime>content & privacy restrictions, and then just turn off content & privacy restrictions at the top, it should fix it.

I had same issue, after long research I found that "cape" app used to control app acess in my phone created glitch and made the App store disappear. go to settings>screen time>cape toggle off and on. App store will re appear. Hope this works. For people who are not using "cape" app, may be there is an other app which is used to retrict app access on your phone. Just uninstal and install that particular app.

The exact same thing is happening on my daughter’s iPad but not my son’s iPad which is the same model. The only way the App Store will reappear is if you completely turn the Content & Privacy Restrictions off which I don’t want to do at all. Usually if Installing Apps is toggled to don’t allow the App Store would go then it would come back when you toggle Allow but this no longer works

Update:

So we’re all in agreement: if you TURN OFF content and restrictions, app store comes back.

Problem: We want to keep content and restrictions turned on because there are other items within that area that need to be turned on for parental control.

Fix: none at this time that would allow content restrictions to be on AND app store available where the child could still ask for apps, but an approval by password from a parent who be allowed.

Want: a software update by apple that addresses this glitch.

Update: I’m now seeing the same behavior as others where Content & Privacy Restrictions has to stay toggled off, even though everything in that section is set to Allow; otherwise, the App Store eventually goes away. Annoying little bug that I hope they soon fix.

Updated to ios 17.6.1 and that solved the problem. Note that it didn't appear right away after updating. But it toggles back to "Don't allow" in content restrictions, but this time "Allow" actually works and it doesn't disappear again.

On our kids phone, we needed to accept a parental control notification at the top of settings to get the App Store back.

ANSWER:

I had the exact same issue with my daughters phone... the cause? I found that when I access my daughters screentime settings from MY device that they were different than that of hers, So I added the content & privacy settings from MY device instead of directly on her phone... now the app store is back with the correct restrictions

ISSUE: setting incompatibility between adult's settings on adult's device for that family member and the settings on family member's / child's device

@apple -> you might want to look at a patch that updates settings correctly between devices

I was able to get the app store to show up with parental controls on by allowing install apps and delete apps

I toggled content & privacy restrictions & it came back

Hi Users if you are using any VPN app or app name called "CAPE" is installed in your device pleas remove it and check you Wil be able to see app store back.