The App Store and Mac App Store showcase your amazing apps and help customers find new favorites. They’re also where our editors share stories about inspiring developers and their incredible work. Find out how customers can discover your apps, and learn how our editors select apps and developers to feature.
Categories
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Categories on the App Store and Mac App Store sort apps based on their main function or subject matter. Customers can browse categories, such as Entertainment, Shopping, or Social Networking, to find related apps. You can assign a primary and a secondary category to your app. The primary category is particularly important for discoverability, as it helps users find your app when browsing or filtering search results, and it determines in which tab your app appears on the App Store.
To learn more, see Choosing a Category.
Today Tab
The Today tab on the App Store is a daily destination with original stories from our editors around the world, featuring exclusive premieres, new releases, a fresh look at our all-time favorites, an App of the Day, a Game of the Day, and more. It offers tips and how-to guides to help customers use apps in innovative ways, and showcases interviews with inspiring developers. Stories share Apple’s unique perspective on apps and games and how they impact our lives, using artwork, videos, and developer quotes to bring your apps to life.
Games and Apps Tabs
The App Store is also the world’s best game store, with dedicated experiences for games and apps that inform and engage customers through recommendations on new releases and updates, videos, top charts, and handpicked collections and categories. Both tabs also feature app preview videos that autoplay with muted audio as customers scroll through the tabs, and selected in-app purchases — which customers can start buying directly on the App Store.
Promoted In-App Purchases
Customers can browse in-app purchases directly on the App Store and start a purchase even before downloading your app, helping your app’s content gain exposure. You can promote up to 20 in-app purchases, including subscriptions, on your app’s product page. They can also appear in search results and may be featured by our editorial team.
For details, see Promoting Your In-App Purchases.
Discover
Discover is where customers find the best new releases and updates on the Mac App Store. Each week, our editors shine a light on incredible apps and games with in-depth stories, behind-the-scenes interviews, and curated collections to help customers do more of what they love with their Mac.
Create
Create is where customers find powerful apps that make creating on a Mac intuitive, efficient, and fun, with helpful tips and tours that even experts will find useful.
Work
Work is where we showcase new favorites that support focus and organization. With curated collections and how-tos from our editors, finding the right business, productivity, and utility apps is easy.
Play
Play is where we highlight great games and entertainment apps, with recommendations of new releases, all-time favorites, and handpicked collections.
Develop
Develop is where our editors curate the best developer tools and utilities to help bring your creativity and imagination to customers around the world.
Getting Featured
App Store editors write stories that showcase apps in interesting and informative ways. Our editors base their decisions on a variety of factors, all of which amount to a great product that customers will love. There is no paid placement or checklist of requirements for apps we write about or feature.
Stories.App Store editors talk about apps that have a unique story for example, a behind-the-scenes look at how a developer launched an app that disrupted an industry or how an app helped a customer solve a unique problem.
Apps and Games. When considering apps to feature, our editors look for high-quality apps across all categories, with a particular focus on new apps and apps with significant updates. Factors that our editors consider include:
- UI design: the usability, appeal, and overall quality of the app
- User experience: the efficiency and functionality of the app
- Innovation: apps that solve a unique problem for customers
- Localizations: high-quality and relevant
- Accessibility: well-integrated features
- App Store product page: compelling screenshots, app previews, and descriptions
- Uniqueness
For games, editors also consider:
- Gameplay and level of engagement
- Graphics and performance
- Audio
- Narrative and story depth
- Ability to replay
- Gameplay controls
Tell us your story.
If your app has a unique story that our editorial team should know, tell us about it. For new apps or a significant update, let us know six to eight weeks in advance of your launch.
How Ask to Buy works
With Ask to Buy, when kids want to buy or download a new item, they send a request to the family organiser. The family organiser can use their own device to approve or decline the request. For example, if a child wants to buy an app, the family approver can see the app and decide whether to allow it.
If the family organiser approves the request and completes the purchase, the item downloads automatically to the child's device. If the family organiser declines the request, no purchase or download will take place. If a child redownloads a purchase, downloads a shared purchase, installs an update or uses a redemption code, the family organiser won’t receive a request.
Who can use Ask to Buy?
Families can use Ask to Buy after they’ve set up Family Sharing. The family organiser can turn on Ask to Buy for any family member who isn't an adult. It's on by default for any children under the age of 13. You'll be asked to set up Ask to Buy when you invite anyone under the age of 18 to your family group.1
If a family member turns 18 and the family organiser turns off Ask to Buy, the family organiser can't turn it on again.
How to turn on or turn off Ask to Buy
If you're the family organiser, use your own device to turn on or turn off Ask to Buy.
On your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch
- Open the Settings app.
- Tap your name.
- Tap Family Sharing.
- Tap Ask to Buy.
- Tap your family member's name.
- Use the toggle to turn on or turn off Ask to Buy.
On your Mac
- Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, then click Family Sharing.
- Click Family in the sidebar.
- Click Details next to the child's name on the right.
- Select Ask to Buy.
On your Mac with macOS Mojave or earlier
- Choose Apple menu > System Preferences.
- Then click iCloud.
- Click Manage Family and select your family member's name.
- Select Ask to Buy.
How to approve or decline a request
If you're the family organiser, use your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Apple Watch or Mac to approve or decline a request.
- Open the notification to see the item your family member wants to get. Can't find your Ask to Buy notifications?
- Approve or decline the request.
- If you approve, sign in with your Apple ID and password to make the purchase.
What happens next?
After the item has been purchased, it's added to your child’s account.2 If you turned on purchase sharing, the item is also shared with the rest of the family group.
What Is Ask To Buy App On Mac Windows 10
If you decline a request, your child will receive a notification stating that you declined the request. If you dismiss the request or don't make the purchase, the child will need to make the request again. Requests that you decline or dismiss are deleted after 24 hours.
Where to find your Ask to Buy requests
If you miss an Ask to Buy notification, you can find the request in Notification Centre on your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Apple Watch or Mac.
How to choose another approver
The family organiser can give another parent or guardian in the group over the age of 18 permission to manage Ask to Buy requests. Only one adult needs to manage each purchase, and after it's been completed, the purchase is final.
On your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch
- Go to Settings.
- Tap your name.
- Tap Family Sharing, then tap your family member's name.
- Tap Role.
- Tap Parent/Guardian.
On your Mac
- Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, then click Family Sharing.
- Click Family in the sidebar.
- Click Details next to the family member's name, then select Parent/Guardian.
On your Mac with macOS Mojave or earlier
- Choose Apple menu > System Preferences.
- Click iCloud, then select your family member.
- Select Parent/Guardian.
How children or teenagers can make a request with Ask to Buy
- To buy or download an item, tap the price or Get button. Or, if you're using an Apple Watch, double-click the side button, then enter your passcode.
- If asked, enter your Apple ID and password.
- Tap Ask. If your parent or guardian is nearby, you can tap 'approve it in person' and they can approve the purchase directly from your device.
- After your parent or guardian has bought the item, it downloads to your device automatically.2
What Is Ask To Buy App On Mac Computer
Ask to Buy doesn't apply to apps or content from school
If a child's account was created using Apple ID for Students, the child can use Ask to Buy for personal purchases outside of the educational institution. It won't apply to any apps or other content distributed by the school.
1. Age varies by country or region.
2. In South Korea, a child may be asked to verify their age after an Ask to Buy request has been approved. Find out more about age verification in South Korea.