If you’re worried about your kids running up a huge bill on in-app purchases, iOS makes it easy to limit these costs. Read on to learn how to turn on in app purchases on iPhone or iPad to keep your family’s expenses under control.
In-app purchasing is a great way to buy extra features, lives or even subscriptions within an app. But if you or your kids don’t understand what they’re buying, they can end up costing you a fortune without realizing it.
1. Go to Settings
In app purchases are a great way to buy stuff within an app, including game credits, e-books, and more. However, they can also be a major temptation for kids to spend real money on things that are only fictional.
If you’re worried about your kids making in-app purchases without your permission, there’s an easy way to prevent them from doing so. First, make sure you’re using the latest version of iOS.
Once you’re running the latest version of iOS, go to Settings on your iPhone. You can do this by swiping down from the top of your screen or by pressing the Home button under your screen and then swiping to the right.
Next, scroll down to the Restrictions section and look for a section that says Require Password. The default setting for this is 15 minutes, but it’s also possible to change that to Immediately so that you’ll have to enter your iTunes password for each purchase.
This will make it much harder for anyone else to use your iPhone to make in-app purchases. That’s a good thing for both you and your kids, but it might also help to cut your iTunes bill.
To turn off in-app purchases on your iPhone, simply go to Settings and then scroll down to Content & Privacy Restrictions. From there, you can turn on the Require Password option to Always Require.
This will ensure that your kids cannot make in-app purchases on your device, regardless of their age or whether they have a fingerprint or Face ID on their devices. This is especially helpful for older children who have more sophisticated access to the internet and may be tempted to make in-app purchases without your permission.
2. Go to Screen Time
Often, apps will let you buy in-app items, extra features, functionality, or expansions to your game, all of which can quickly add up to be a significant cost. Fortunately, if you want to prevent unauthorized in-app purchases on an iPhone or other device, the process is straightforward and can be completed within minutes.
In-app purchases are available on most mobile devices, and are typically found in free-to-play games or free-to-use apps that offer additional content or features. These can include extra coins or power-ups to help you reach a certain level, or subscriptions that grant you access to additional features (often billed on a monthly or yearly basis).
To avoid these kinds of in-app purchases, the best solution is to disable them altogether on an iPhone. You can do this by going to Settings > Screen Time, then scrolling down and tapping the Content & Privacy Restrictions slider.
Once you’ve enabled this, it’s impossible for anyone to make in-app purchases on your device. In addition, you can create a restrictions passcode that locks this setting so you don’t accidentally unlock it and enable it again.
As well as setting limits, Screen Time also lets you keep track of how much time you spend on your phone each day, letting you see which apps are taking up the most of your attention and why. You can even set a schedule to limit your usage throughout the day, or even a week.
You can also set a restrictions passcode, which is a 4-digit code that locks these settings so they won’t be unlocked by anyone else. It’s important to select a passcode that you’ll remember, but one that won’t be easy for others to guess or break.
3. Go to Content & Privacy Restrictions
In-app purchases are a great way to expand your iPhone or iPad’s functionality, unlock new features, and buy extra content. However, they can quickly add up to a bill that will leave you scratching your head. That’s why if you share your iPhone or iPad with your kids, it can be a good idea to limit their in-app purchase capabilities.
Thankfully, iOS comes with some safeguards that can prevent your child from spending your hard-earned money on in-app purchases, without your knowledge. Thankfully, turning on in-app purchase restrictions is an easy process that you can complete with your kids in just minutes!
First, open the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad. Then, go to Screen Time and tap Content & Privacy Restrictions. If prompted, enter your passcode.
From here, you’ll see a list of options that can be restricted by age ratings or content preferences. For example, you can prevent children from listening to music with explicit content or watching movies with specific ratings.
Next, you can also restrict in-app purchases by requiring a password to make them. This is a useful option that’s available on both iOS 12 and older versions of Apple’s mobile software.
This is a useful feature that can help prevent your children from making expensive in-app purchases that will eventually leave you scratching your head. You can even set a password that prevents anyone else from enabling this feature in the future.
4. Go to iTunes & App Store Purchases
There are a number of apps on the iPhone, including games, that let you purchase extra features, functionality, content, in-game expansions and resources, or character upgrades from within the app itself. This feature is called in-app purchases (IAPs).
In-app purchases can be a great way to get things that would otherwise require an additional purchase, but they can also be very expensive. So, it’s important to disable in-app purchases on an iPhone and iPad so that you don’t accidentally spend money that you don’t have.
You can control your in-app purchases on your iPhone or iPad through a variety of ways, but one of the easiest ways is to use Screen Time and Content & Privacy Restrictions. The latter allows you to turn off in-app purchases on your device and also set a restrictions passcode that will block anyone from accessing it.
To do this, go to Settings on an iOS device and then tap Screen Time. On the next screen, tap Content & Privacy Restrictions.
Once you’ve done this, select iTunes & App Store Purchases in the left pane and turn off the Allow option. This will prevent your kids from making in-app purchases on their devices, so you don’t have to worry about them spending too much money.
Another feature that has been added to Apple’s iTunes & App Store is the ability to view detailed purchase history. This includes the date and name of the device that purchased the item, as well as information about the billing date and order ID.
These new features are a huge improvement over previous options and make it much easier to manage your purchases and downloads from your iPhone or iPad. If you find that there are discrepancies in your purchase history, you can easily address them and even request a new email receipt to keep track of all of your purchases.
5. Go to In-app Purchases
In-app purchases are a way for apps to earn money by selling items within the app. They can be anything from game currency to premium e-books or even subscriptions to apps and services.
While these can be useful and fun, they can also turn into big bills if you don’t keep an eye on them. They’re especially a concern if you have a child using an iPhone or iPad.
The good news is that you can prevent accidental purchases on your iOS device by turning on in-app purchasing restrictions. You can also require a password for in-app purchases or disable them entirely.
To turn on in-app purchasing restrictions, go to Settings. Tap Screen Time, then scroll down and choose Content & Privacy Restrictions. If prompted, enter your passcode and set the restrictions to On/Green.
You can choose a different passcode for each person who uses your device, and you can set restrictions for specific apps or the entire app store. You can also enable a 15-minute grace period during which you don’t need to reenter your iTunes password for any additional in-app purchases.
By following these steps, you can protect your wallet from unwanted purchases and prevent a hefty credit card bill from racking up in the future. It’s also a great way to ensure that kids don’t accidentally buy expensive items within apps that they’re not aware of.
Apple also offers a feature called Family Sharing that allows you to review and approve purchases made by other family members, but this only works if they’re under a certain age. If you don’t have Family Sharing set up, you can still limit or disable in-app purchases on your device by going to In-app Purchases.