How to Gift an iPhone App

By
Sam Costello
Sam Costello
Sam Costello
Writer
  • Ithaca College
Sam Costello has been writing about tech since 2000. His writing has appeared in publications such as CNN.com, PC World, InfoWord, and many others.
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Updated on March 11, 2021

What to Know

  • Launch the App Store app and find an app you're interested in giving.
  • Tap the action box > Gift App and enter the details. Tap Next.
  • Choose an email style and tap Buy.

Apple's App Store isn't just for buying things for yourself; you may want to send one as a present to make a friend or loved one's life easier or more fun. Here's how to give an iOS app as a gift on an iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch running iOS 14 and up.

How to Give Apps as Gifts Using iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch

You can give apps as a gifts using the App Store app that comes pre-installed on the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. Here's how:

  1. Tap the App Store app to launch it.

  2. Find the app you want to gift by browsing or searching.

    Screenshots of gifting an iOS app from the App Store

  3. Tap the app to go to its detail page.

  4. Tap the action box (the rectangle with an arrow coming out of it).

  5. Tap Gift App (or just Gift, in some earlier versions of the iOS) in the pop-up menu at the bottom of the screen. Not every app can be given as a gift, so if you don't see this option, the app likely can't be gifted.

  6. Enter the email address of your gift recipient, your name, and a message.

    Screenshots of gifting an iOS app from the App Store

  7. In the Send Gift menu, sending the gift today is the default. To change that, tap the menu and select a new date.

  8. Tap Next.

  9. Swipe side to side to preview the gift email styles. When you find one you like, keep it on screen and tap Next.

  10. Review all details of the gift. To make changes, tap Back. To gift the iOS app, tap Buy.

How to Give Apps as Gifts Using iTunes

With the removal of the App Store from iTunes 12.7, you can no longer give apps as gifts using iTunes. If you've got an older version of iTunes, you can follow the steps listed below. Otherwise, the only option to gift an iOS app is to use an iPhone or iPad.

  1. Open iTunes and make sure you're logged into your Apple ID (or, if you don't have one, create one. You'll need to do this in order to pay for the gift).

  2. Select the App Store.

  3. Search or browse the App Store until you find the app that you want to give as a gift.

  4. Click the down arrow next to the price of the app.

  5. In the menu that pops up, click Gift This App.

  6. In the window that pops up, fill out the recipient's email address, your name, and a message to go along with the gift.

  7. Next, choose whether to send the gift by email today or on another date. If you select a future date, an email containing the gift will be sent to your recipient on that day.

  8. Click Next.

  9. Choose the style of the email that includes the gift. Select your style from the list on the left.

  10. If the preview of the gift email looks good, click Next.

  11. Review the gift, price, and other details. To change something, click Back. To gift the app, click Buy Gift. 

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