How to change the birth date and year of your Apple Account

In this quick tutorial, we’ll explain why you might want to change the date of birth (DOB) in your Apple Account and how to do so on iPhone, iPad, Mac, or a web browser.

Like most online accounts, when you create your Apple Account (formerly called an Apple ID), you are asked to enter your birth month, day, and year.

Apple uses these details to calculate your age, which is then used to tailor your experience on iPhone, iPad, Mac, and other Apple services. For instance, when you set up a new iPhone with your child’s account, Apple will automatically enable some safety features like blurring out nude pictures received on iMessage.

Reasons to change your Apple Account birthday

First off, you may want to update your DOB if you entered it incorrectly when creating your account.

Changing the account birthday can give or block access to age-restricted apps, songs, movies, TV shows, Game Center features, some app features, in-app purchases, and more.

Apple now also lets third-party apps access a user’s age range, so the app can tailor a safe, appropriate experience for them. Therefore, setting the right age is important.

And finally, you may want to reduce the Apple Account age of your adult son, daughter, or family members, if you want to manage Screen Time and restrictions for them even after they have turned 18. Conversely, if you want to turn a child’s Apple Account into a normal account, manually changing their date of birth is the way to do so.

But before you proceed, note that Apple may (rarely) ask you to verify using your date of birth for account recovery or other identity verification purposes. So it’s advisable to save the correct details, but if you must use another date, note it somewhere safe for future reference.

Caution: A birthday is something that you should not change or update often. If you do it multiple times in a short span, Apple may restrict your account.

Change the date of birth for your Apple Account

You can update it from your Apple device or web browser. Here are the steps for all.

iPhone or iPad

1) Open the iOS Settings app.

2) Tap your Apple Account name at the top.

3) Tap Personal Information.

4) Select the Birthday option.

5) Use the calendar layout to select another date, day, or year, as needed, and tap the checkmark icon to save the details.

Mac

1. Open System Settings and click your Apple Account name in the top left corner.
2. Select Personal Information.
3. Update your Date of Birth, and it will auto-save.

Web browser

If you no longer have an Apple device, you can change the date of birth using a web browser. Just make sure you have access to the phone number added to your Apple Account so you can receive the login verification code.

1. Head over to account.apple.com and sign in with your Apple Account email address, password, and one-time code.
2. Click Personal Information on the left.
3. Click Birthday.
4. Use the Month, Date, and Year drop-downs to add the new birthday and click the Save button.

What’s your reason for changing your Apple Account birthday?

Also, check out: How to keep track of birthdays on iPhone, iPad, and Mac