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Tech and digital life for families

In-app purchases

Purchases made inside an app or game after you install it, such as extra items, features or subscriptions, charged to the account's payment method.

What It Means

In-app purchases are things you buy inside an app or game after it's installed, such as extra items, features or subscriptions. They're charged to the payment method on the account the device is signed in to, so a child playing on a parent's account can run up real charges. Google Play, for one, lets a parent in a family group require approval before a family member buys, and the FTC has taken action against companies that billed parents for purchases their children made without consent.

Try It: See How Small In-App Charges Add Up

Try a price and how often a child taps buy. The starting numbers are an example.

Each week$14.97
Each month$64.87
Each year$778

In this example nothing asks a parent first, so each purchase goes through without your OK.

In the FTC's 2014 Apple case, one parent reported her daughter spent $2,600 in a single app.

How People Say It

  • "Why is there a $9.99 charge from that game?"
  • "He needs my password to buy anything now."
  • "It's free to download but full of in-app purchases."

The Breakdown

How to require approval before a child buys

  1. On Google Play, open the Google Play app on your own phone, tap your profile picture, then Settings, Family, and Manage family members. Pick your child's name and tap Purchase approvals.
  2. On Apple devices, Windows computers and Xbox, the FTC points parents to Apple's Family SharingParental controlsSettings and tools that let a parent limit what a child can see, download, buy and who they can contact on a device or app, and for how long. See more and Microsoft Family Safety for parental controls. Open the one for your child's device and review what it allows for purchases.
  3. Learn how approval works. On Google Play, your child's device shows a screen asking for your password, and you approve by entering your Google Account password on their device.
  4. Know what's covered. Google Play's approvals apply to paid apps, in-app purchases and prepaid subscriptions bought through Google Play's billing system. They don't cover Play Books, Google TV or subscriptions that aren't prepaid.
  5. Look over the account's purchase history once a month.

Short version for today. Turn on purchase approval for the device your child uses most, then ask them to request something so you both see how the approval screen works.

Good to Know

The FTC's cases show why approval settings matter. In January 2014, Apple agreed to give full refunds of at least $32.5 million after the FTC said that entering a password opened a 15-minute window for unlimited charges, and that parents weren't told. Google agreed that September to refund at least $19 million over a similar 30-minute window, and Amazon made more than $70 million in refunds available after a federal judge in Seattle ruled for the FTC. If you find charges a child made without your OK, contact the app store that billed you and ask about a refund.

FAQ

How do I stop my kid from making in-app purchases?

Turn on purchase approval in your device's family settings. On Google Play it's called Purchase approvals, and each purchase then waits for your password on your child's device. For Apple and Microsoft devices, the FTC points to Family Sharing and Microsoft Family Safety.

What counts as an in-app purchase?

Anything bought inside an app after it's installed, such as extra items, features or subscriptions. Google Play's approval setting covers in-app purchases along with paid apps and prepaid subscriptions.

Can I get a refund for in-app purchases my child made?

Ask the store that billed you. In the FTC's settlements, Apple and Google agreed to refund parents charged for children's purchases made without consent, and Amazon made more than $70 million in refunds available.

Do It in Buhata

Reminders

Set a monthly Reminder in Buhata to look over your app store purchase history with your child.

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Related Terms and Categories

  • Parental controls

    Settings and tools that let a parent limit what a child can see, download, buy and who they can contact on a device or app, and for how long.

  • Game age ratings

    Labels that tell you which ages a video game suits and what content it has. In the U.S., the ESRB assigns them, from E for Everyone to AO for Adults Only.

  • Screen time

    The time a child spends using screens such as TVs, tablets, phones, computers and game consoles, counted across a day or a week.

Tech and digital life for families

Sources

Federal Trade Commission, "Apple Inc. Will Provide Full Consumer Refunds of At Least $32.5 Million to Settle FTC Complaint It Charged for Kids' In-App Purchases Without Parental Consent" (2014); Federal Trade Commission, "Google to Refund Consumers at Least $19 Million to Settle FTC Complaint It Unlawfully Billed Parents for Children's Unauthorized In-App Charges" (2014); Federal Trade Commission, "FTC settlement with Amazon yields $70 million for consumers, advice for business" (2017); Google For Families Help, "Purchase approvals on Google Play"; Federal Trade Commission, "How To Use Parental Controls To Keep Your Kid Safer Online"

Last updated .