Parents' Guide to Showtime

App iPhone , iPod Touch , iPad Free to try Entertainment
Showtime Poster Image

Common Sense Media Review

Amanda Bindel By Amanda Bindel , based on child development research. How do we rate?

age 18+

Parent controls with no code = easy access to all content.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 18+?

Any Positive Content?

Parent and Kid Reviews

age 18+

Based on 1 parent review

Privacy Rating Warning

  • Personal information is sold or rented to third parties.
  • Personal information is shared for third-party marketing.
  • Personalised advertising is displayed.
  • Data are collected by third-parties for their own purposes.
  • User's information is used to track and target advertisements on other third-party websites or services.
  • Unclear whether this product creates and uses data profiles for personalised advertisements.

What's It About?

Browse SHOWTIME programming by series, movies, sports, comedy, reality shows/documentaries, after-hours content, and coming-soon content or watch live TV from the app. Show titles are searchable, too, and users can save programs to their lists for easier viewing. From the settings, parents can restrict the ratings, and if kids try to watch a show that is outside of that rating, they'll see a message that the content is restricted. However, there is no passcode to preserve the restrictions, so anyone can change them at will. Parents also can control which devices are logged in from the settings. Viewers can share on social media what show they're watching, and they can turn on or off closed-captioning for shows while viewing.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say ( 1 ):
Kids say : Not yet rated

Since most of Showtime's content is quite mature, parents will need to keep a close eye on the use of this app. One subscription can be used on multiple devices, and viewing restrictions are tied to the account rather than the device. That means parents will have to change the restrictions if they want to watch a mature show and remember to change the restrictions back before kids watch. Also, since there are no parental gates or passwords protecting the settings, kids can easily change them. Unlike HBO Now, Showtime is best used on a passcode-protected device that only parents use.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about parent controls and their purpose. What kinds of shows is it OK for them to watch? What's not OK?

  • Check the reviews for specific shows or movies to get the specs on each, and check out our

App Details

  • Devices : iPhone , iPod Touch , iPad
  • Pricing structure : Free to try (seven-day trial then $10.99/mo.)
  • Release date : July 7, 2015
  • Genre : Entertainment
  • Publisher : iOS 7.0 or later
  • Version : 1.0
  • Minimum software requirements : iOS 7.0 or later
  • Last updated : December 2, 2021

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by

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