Apple will be cutting off support for the iTunes Allowances feature of iTunes. The feature allowed parents to automatically place money into their child’s iTunes account on a monthly basis.
As of April 13, users can no longer create new iTunes Allowance deposits, with the feature officially getting cut-off for good on May 25, 2016.
After May 25th, any unused allowance amount will be rolled over into the recipient’s regular iTunes account to be used as normal. However, the monthly deposits will cease.
The Allowances feature allowed parents to gift their offspring with a set amount of iTunes store credit each month – in amounts ranging from $10 to $50 – thus avoiding the need for the child’s account to include the parent’s credit or debit card information. The credit could then be used to purchase apps from the Mac and iOS App Stores, music and video content from iTunes, books form iBooks, and more.
Apple has been contacting iTunes Allowance users to inform them of the change, but has not provided a reason for ending the long-running program. The company is encouraging iTunes Allowance users to make use of its Family Sharing features to control purchases made by younger members of their household.
