tvOS 27 Lets Parents Block Specific Apps on Apple TV 4K

The release notes describe the change as individual app controls in Settings that let you block users from launching specific apps. In practice, a parent can open Settings and prevent selected apps from opening at all while a child's profile is active.

9to5Mac reported that the feature is clearly intended for parents. Profiles for children already restricted the kinds of content they would see inside the Apple TV app, but that restriction did not stop a child from opening a different app that carried no such limits. The tvOS 27 controls close that gap by acting on app launches rather than only on content inside a single app.

Profiles are a standard feature across major streaming services, separating viewing history and recommendations for people who share a household. Apple has long offered profiles in tvOS, and the report said the feature has become considerably more useful over the past year through a series of upgrades. The new app-launch restriction is the latest of those additions.

According to the same report, the change aligns with Apple's recent focus in iOS 27 on upgrading parental controls. On the subject of profile improvements, the report said iOS 27.2 and iPadOS 27.2 will bring Apple's profile system to the iPhone and iPad for the first time.

The report did not specify which apps can be blocked or when the tvOS 27 update will reach users more broadly.

Editor's Summary

Apple's tvOS 27 introduces individual app controls in Settings that allow a profile to block specific apps from launching on Apple TV 4K, extending parental restrictions beyond the Apple TV app's own content limits. The change, reported by 9to5Mac from Apple's release notes, is the latest in a series of profile upgrades in tvOS and follows Apple's broader parental-control work in iOS 27. Apple's profile system is also set to arrive on iPhone and iPad with iOS 27.2 and iPadOS 27.2.