Apple CEO Steve Jobs stands in front of the new iTunes logo as speaks during an Apple Special Event at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Sept. 1, 2010 in San Francisco, California (Photo : Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Apple announced that it is ending its support for iTunes Allowance program and users will not be able to generate new allowances effective from now. Moreover, all existing contributions too will be discontinued from May 25.
The iTunes Allowance was started in 2003 to enable parents to place money, anything between $10 and $50 per month, into their kids' iTunes accounts automatically and also without giving the children access to their credit cards. On their part, the children could just log into their iTunes accounts, use the credit to purchase content from music, movies and e-books to their mobile as well as desktop apps. They could also buy an Apple Music membership, Mac Rumors reported.
All this has come to an end with effect from April 13, as users are no more allowed to create any new deposits for iTune Allowance. Instead, the unused balance credit will be passed on to the recipient's basic iTunes account and he/ she will be able to use it normally. However, the monthly deposits will be cut off henceforth. Although Apple has been informing the users through emails regarding its latest move, the Cupertino tech titan did not offer any precise reason for ending the long-running feature.
In its notice to customers, Apple mentioned that Family Sharing was another means to manage iTunes purchases by a family, in addition to iTunes Gifts. Apple has been offering Family Sharing since the launch of iOS 8 and this feature allows as many as six people in a family or group of friends to share any purchase from App Store or iTunes.
While the iTunes Allowance program aimed at making the children spend an amount fixed by their parents and fostering good choices, sometimes the feature was misused by kids, who somewhat overspent when they somehow accessed their parents' iTunes account, PC Mag reported. According to the report, a 7-year-old learnt his father's Apple ID password by heart, and subsequently spent a whopping amount in the Jurassic World iOS game. The kid is said to have made 65 transactions and spent about $5,900 just in a week.
Meanwhile, Apple is said to be working on a new paid search feature, which would allow companies to pay for displaying their apps prominently at the top of search results depending on what the user is seeking. In addition, the Cupertino tech giant is also working to improve the way customers generally browse the App Store.
Watch the video on iTunes tutorial, tips and tricks below:
