assistive access won’t show all apps

Question

assistive access won’t show all apps

hi all,

assistive access isn’t working as intended for my younger sister’s iPad. it only allows a few apps out of the ones approved manually to actually show up (as i have been into settings already to check if the apps are actually allowed to be shown)

I’ve tried restarting the iPad, resetting assistive access and removing all apps from assistive access and re-allowing them. the iPad is a (refurbished) mini 5 (apologies for the mini 6 tag, there’s not one for 5 as far as I know) running iOS 26.0.1 before anyone asks just to make it clear

the new update slightly changed age ratings so I’m curious if it’s something to do with that (even though the apps run completely fine outside of assistive access). My sister is 2 going on 3 which is why I’m pondering that.

my slightly older sister who is 4 is able to run all allowed apps in assistive access fine on her iPad (same model and firmware version) which is why I’m confused.

help would be greatly appreciated!! thanks if you’ve read this far.

iPad mini (6th generation)

Posted on Oct 12, 2025 11:05 AM

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Answer 1

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brbo

Level 8

38,353 points

Oct 12, 2025 7:42 PM in response to raylacksanity

Hi, and welcome to this Apple (user-to-user) Community

Re: "assistive access won’t show all apps": " ... younger sister’s iPad.

it only allows a few apps out of the ones approved manually to actually show up ... "

" ... older sister who is 4 is able to run all allowed apps in assistive access fine ..."

I don't know whether or not Apple has age-ratings for its built-in apps. Many apps in the app store are-rated 4+ so if the younger sister's birthdate is listed in her Apple Account, you may be right about some apps not being allowed. Else: Parental controls, including ScreenTime, may also be in use, and affecting which apps are allowed.

You may want to check through Apple's set up article, to see if something has been overlooked: Set up Assistive Access on iPad - Apple Support

You may need to also need to set-up any of the missing apps in order to provide for use.

Settings can also be changed after set-up: if needed:

See how to: Change Assistive Access settings on iPad - Apple Support

If you aren't already using it: Links above come from:the useful resource for iOS26:

Assistive Access User Guide - Apple Support

If needed: For help with an accessibilty feature you can reach out to Apple's experts:

How to contact Apple for help with accessibility features - Apple Support

All the best :-)

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