14 DAY TRIAL // Apple has been involved in several high-cost lawsuits and they may have learned from their mistakes. Really expensive in-app purchases have pushed Apple to explain everything in layman terms and make it easier for parents to guard their kids’ iOS Device.
The first rule every parent needs to know before they hand out a new iPod touch to their kids is how to harness the in-app purchases. There are literally millions of apps that are free but offer in-app purchases as goods and services. It is one thing to pay 99 cents (79 euro cents) to get rid of the ads and it is another to pay $2.99 (€2.23) every five minutes to continue playing your favorite game.
Not many people know that once you enter your password to make an in-app purchase, for the next 15 minutes the app will not ask you for a password to buy new stuff. However, you can override this with a toggle. In order to do that, just go to Settings – General – Restrictions and enable them. After that, make sure to set in-app purchases to ON. This will make the device ask for a password each and every time someone wants to buy something.
You can learn more about in-app purchases on the iTunes special page.
Another way to protect a device is to set passwords and fingerprints for Touch ID. First of all, set a strong but easy to remember password to unlock the device. Obviously, this should not be disclosed to your children or anyone else. If you have an iPhone 5s or later device, make sure to set your Touch ID fingerprints. This will help you make your device as unique as your fingerprint. No one will be able to access apps or buy stuff unless you see the screen.
Another great way to keep your kids’ spending under control is to set up a monthly gift card allowance. You just follow the steps once and you can have them receive the same amount of money at the beginning of the month. Apple offers a variety of denominations for monthly allowances, but you can also send just a one-time gift with a larger amount, so you know where your money goes.
Each iOS device has really useful parental controls built in. You can be as granular as you need to, restricting access to features such as podcasts, library sharing, movies, and TV shows and even apps based on their ratings.
Learn more about restrictions on this page.