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tvOS 26.2 has two new features coming for Apple TV 4K users

Avatar for Ryan Christoffel  | Nov 7 2025 - 11:33 am PT
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tvOS 26 launched earlier this fall and made user profiles more prominent than ever. Now, a discovery in the tvOS 26.2 beta shows that Apple plans to make profiles even more convenient for Apple TV 4K users soon thanks to two changes.

tvOS 26.2 lets you create profiles without Apple Account, and supports content restrictions in TV app

tvOS 26.2 beta 1 debuted earlier this week, and today Juli Clover at MacRumors reports on a pair of new features she discovered.

First, user profiles can now be created without requiring an Apple Account associated with them.

Previously, profiles were designed primary for use with Family Sharing groups. The intent is that you’re adding household members who are part of your family and have their own Apple Account.

But whether you wanted to add a profile for someone in your family or perhaps a roommate, you still needed a separate Apple Account tied to each profile.

In tvOS 26.2, however, this restriction has been removed.

Now you can create a profile with no Apple Account requirement, making the profiles feature far more convenient. It now works more similarly to profile systems from streaming services like Netflix and Disney+.

Inside the Settings app’s Profiles section, you can add a new profile just by inputting a name, content rating, and confirming whether it’s a child or not.

This change ties in with the second feature Clover discovered.

Now, when a child’s profile is active, the Apple TV app will only show content that matches the approved ratings assigned to the profile.

For TV shows, this includes common ratings like TV-Y, TV-Y7, and more.

If you’re a parent looking to create a more locked-down content experience for your child, this new tvOS 26.2 feature should make that easier—at least within the Apple TV app.

Have you been using profiles on your Apple TV 4K, and what do you think of tvOS 26.2’s changes? Let us know in the comments.

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Avatar for Ryan Christoffel Ryan Christoffel

Ryan got his start in journalism as an Editor at MacStories, where he worked for four years covering Apple news, writing app reviews, and more. For two years he co-hosted the Adapt podcast on Relay FM, which focused entirely on the iPad. As a result, it should come as no surprise that his favorite Apple device is the iPad Pro.