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Question for IPhone/IPad users who buy apps for kids. I plan to gift a friend's son an Apple device of some kind and some games for his upcoming birthday, and

Question for IPhone/IPad users who buy apps for kids. I plan to gift a friend's son an Apple device of some kind and some games for his upcoming birthday, and I don't want him either bankrupting his dad (who will be registered as the owner of the device, and whose credit card details will be available to Apple/ITunes post registration (I think!) ) by accidentally buying stuff, or having to interrupt his games to dismiss in app purchases and so on. Is there a way to disable kids purchasing stuff accidentally? Is there a way of finding out which apps have in game purchases and which don't, without actually trying them out? I am willing to pay for good apps and don't expect free apps, but once I pay, I want the kid to have an ad free experience. I own no Apple Kit of any kind and have no experience buying stuff from the App Store. All help appreciated. Thanks in advance. Edit: Thanks for all the great replies, much appreciated.

antonyh 15y ago
Use gift cards instead of registering a credit card. It's much easier to control the spend. I totally agree with 'ad-free experience'; if I can't tolerate adverts in apps then I wouldn't let children see them where they will distract from the app itself.
- Splines 15y ago
  This is what we do for our son. From what I can remember it isn't obvious that you can set up an iTunes account without a credit card - we had to go into iTunes (on a PC) after-the-fact to remove the CC info.
huxley 15y ago
Most apps that have in-app purchasing list "Top In-App Purchases" on the left-hand sidebar on the App Store listing. If you go into Settings > General > Restrictions, you can set restrictions on the use. * You can set a different PIN passcode Optional restrictions available: * installing and deleting apps * set age limits on apps * restrict in-app purchases You need to enter your Apple ID to make purchases but it's worth deciding on whether to give a 15 minute window for purchases without re-authentication or to require immediate re-authentication. If the kids know the Apple ID passwords and passcode, none of that will provide much protection.
rendezvouscp 15y ago
In Settings, under General, there are Restrictions that you can place on the device, including disabling In-App Purchase. Every app has their In-App Purchases listed in the store, so you can see which ones have them before buying. More info on restrictions: https://support.apple.com/kb/HT4213 https://support.apple.com/kb/HT4213
ja27 15y ago
There are indicators that apps have in-app purchases but most kids and parents don't notice them. In-app purchases require you to enter your iTunes account password so it's generally hard to accidentally buy something. The problem is that once you enter the password to make a purchase (even of a free app), you stay logged in for a while (15 minutes?). A lot of parents have been burned by downloading a free app (requiring a login), then handing their phone to their kid to entertain them for a few minutes. The kid then racks up a few in-app purchases before the login session times out. Quite a few parents learn that lesson when their kid buys a $1.99 add-on, but the really scummy apps have $99 purchases. I generally wouldn't worry about it. If the device is for a kid, they'll probably be begging for iTunes gift cards and will learn to budget their purchases. The only real problem is when mom or dad have their iTunes account tied to their credit / debit card and don't pay attention.

antonyh 15y ago

Use gift cards instead of registering a credit card. It's much easier to control the spend. I totally agree with 'ad-free experience'; if I can't tolerate adverts in apps then I wouldn't let children see them where they will distract from the app itself.

Splines 15y ago
This is what we do for our son. From what I can remember it isn't obvious that you can set up an iTunes account without a credit card - we had to go into iTunes (on a PC) after-the-fact to remove the CC info.

huxley 15y ago

Most apps that have in-app purchasing list "Top In-App Purchases" on the left-hand sidebar on the App Store listing. If you go into Settings > General > Restrictions, you can set restrictions on the use. * You can set a different PIN passcode Optional restrictions available: * installing and deleting apps * set age limits on apps * restrict in-app purchases You need to enter your Apple ID to make purchases but it's worth deciding on whether to give a 15 minute window for purchases without re-authentication or to require immediate re-authentication. If the kids know the Apple ID passwords and passcode, none of that will provide much protection.

rendezvouscp 15y ago

In Settings, under General, there are Restrictions that you can place on the device, including disabling In-App Purchase. Every app has their In-App Purchases listed in the store, so you can see which ones have them before buying. More info on restrictions: https://support.apple.com/kb/HT4213 https://support.apple.com/kb/HT4213

ja27 15y ago

There are indicators that apps have in-app purchases but most kids and parents don't notice them. In-app purchases require you to enter your iTunes account password so it's generally hard to accidentally buy something. The problem is that once you enter the password to make a purchase (even of a free app), you stay logged in for a while (15 minutes?). A lot of parents have been burned by downloading a free app (requiring a login), then handing their phone to their kid to entertain them for a few minutes. The kid then racks up a few in-app purchases before the login session times out. Quite a few parents learn that lesson when their kid buys a $1.99 add-on, but the really scummy apps have $99 purchases. I generally wouldn't worry about it. If the device is for a kid, they'll probably be begging for iTunes gift cards and will learn to budget their purchases. The only real problem is when mom or dad have their iTunes account tied to their credit / debit card and don't pay attention.