You must be at least 13 to use Apple's services, and if you set up Family Sharing, the adult organizer is financially responsible for all purchases — including app and in-app purchases — made by children in the family group.
Family organizers face financial liability for all purchases made by minors in their Family Sharing group, including potentially large in-app purchases in games, which may be difficult to dispute or reverse under Apple's no-refund policy.
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Parents who set up Family Sharing may be held liable for significant unexpected charges from children making in-app purchases, as Apple holds the family organizer financially responsible regardless of whether purchases were authorized.
REGULATORY FRAMEWORK: The 13-year minimum age threshold is set in accordance with COPPA (Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, 15 U.S.C. §6501 et seq., 16 CFR Part 312), which restricts collection of personal information from children under 13 without verifiable parental consent — enforced by the FTC. For EU/EEA users, GDPR Art. 8 sets the digital consent age at 16 (or lower if member states have set a different threshold, minimum 13), requiring parental consent for processing data of children below that age. The FTC has brought multiple enforcement actions against platforms for inadequate COPPA compliance, with fines reaching into the tens of millions of dollars.
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