IOS – Gifting an App from the App Store

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I want to purchase an iPad photography app now (while its on sale at half price) and gift it to a student later in the summer when she gets an iPad. Since I already own the app, the App Store doesn’t give me an option of purchasing it again. How do I do this?

If I’m teaching her, can I add my licensed copy to her iPad? She will not be using my Apple ID. She does not yet have an AppleID or I’d purchase it there for her.

Best Answer

Two things to overcome. First is you need to navigate to the app and to the right of where it says open - choose the box with the up arrow and underneath the pop up, the gift option arises. Second, only paid apps can be gifted.

ios App Store - screen before you can gift a paid app

You will have to enter an email address as an AppleID for the gift to be sent and I have never entered an AppleID that didn’t exist. If you can get the student to make their AppleID first, that might be required and I would recommend it if you know the sale duration allows this time.

I wouldn’t make an account for someone else and strongly recommend against it in general - that seems to end up badly for most people for many reasons. Here are other sale opportunities you might also consider while waiting for your student to get their account ready to receive your gift:

  1. Apple offers discounts when you pre-pay a balance - sometimes 10%
  2. Apple gift cards often are sold at a discount and can be gifted physically and via code
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