May 13, 2013
Many free and paid apps offer opportunities to make purchases from within while you're using them on your iOS devices -- to add levels, buy extra lives, and manage auto-renewing subscriptions, for instance. Learn More About In-App Purchases provides an overview of what In-App Purchases are and how they work, and the Parental Controls section includes information about using the Restrictions setting on individual iOS devices (in the General area of Settings) to limit what can be done with them.
May 7, 2013
iTunes provides powerful access to a very large and diverse world of books, music, movies, TV shows, mobile apps, podcasts, and iTunes U courses. As a parent you can set access for individual family members based on ratings, their ages, and your judgement. Parents' Guide to iTunes provides an overview of what you can manage (age restrictions for movies, blocks against explicit content, and more) and includes links to greater detail about how to do those things. In addition, you can learn how to manage access to mobile devices and app purchases.
April 29, 2013
Ever wanted to buy a TV show while on the go but were concerned about download speeds and sizes? Now when you buy a TV season, you can choose to download the first available episode right away, or leave all episodes for later. You can also choose when to download movies and large music box sets (playlists containing more than 100 tracks). Click or tap Buy and a dialog will appear letting you control the download behavior, and it will remind you that you can always download the content later via Purchased in iTunes -- a benefit of iTunes in the Cloud.
April 8, 2013
To reduce the possibility of unauthorized use of your Apple ID, you can now add an extra level of security by setting up two-step verification. When you turn it on, both your password and a four-digit verification code sent to one of your devices will be required before you (or anyone else) can sign in to manage your Apple ID, seek related support from Apple, or make purchases in the iTunes Store, App Store, or iBookstore from a new device. Frequently asked questions about two-step verification for Apple ID provides an overview of the process, additional details, and how to set it up.
April 1, 2013
Genius searches your library for songs that go great together, then organizes them into genre-based mixes you'll love, like Hip-Hop/Rap Mix, Singer/Songwriter Mix, R&B/Soul Mix, and more, depending on what you have in your iTunes library on your computer. Use the Store menu to turn Genius on. To see and use the mixes it creates for you automatically, click Playlists on your computer and then Genius Mixes. On iPhone and iPod touch, use the Genius button in the Music app and on iPad, they're listed first under Playlists, marked with a Genius icon. You can also custom-create your own Genius playlists of songs that will go well with a song you select as the starting point. Move the pointer over a song, click the arrow that will appear, and select Create Genius Playlist. The resulting playlist will be marked with the Genius icon and automatically named after the song you seeded it with.
