November 11, 2024

Tech Fix: Are Your Children Racking Up Charges From Mobile Games? Here’s How to Fight Back

In other words, if a minor failed to buy something inside a game using a Facebook mobile app, he or she could go on a computer and use the website to make the purchase, so long as your credit card was handy.

This is a glaring loophole. When I called Facebook about it, a spokeswoman pointed me to its Parents Portal, which includes guidelines on how parents can talk to their children about how they use the web.

Facebook does have a process for disputing charges and requesting refunds, in the games support section of Facebook. When you visit the web tool, select “process a refund,” click “purchase made by someone under 18 years old” and then choose the unauthorized game.

Amazon offers games for its Fire tablets along with a range of controls for restricting app payments on those devices, which require a password to make purchases. It also offers Amazon FreeTime, which automatically blocks minors from content inside its app store.

Here’s how the parental controls work:

  • On the tablet, open the Amazon Appstore app.

  • From there, select “account” and then tap “settings.”

  • Then tap “parental controls” and select “enable parental controls.” With this setting turned on, the Amazon account password will be required to make in-app purchases.

And here’s how to set up FreeTime:

  • Swipe down from the top of the screen and select “settings,” and then tap “profiles family library.”

  • Choose “add a child profile” and create a lock-screen PIN, which your child will not have access to.

  • From the “add child profile” screen, select “choose a profile picture” to add a profile picture. Enter your child’s name, birth date and gender.

  • From here, you can choose “use Amazon FreeTime,” which is suited for children, or “use teen profiles,” which has an aesthetic more suited for teenagers. (Either one will automatically block in-app purchases.)

  • Tap “add profile” and choose the content you want available on the child’s profile. Then tap “done.”

Fortnite is an important example of an app that is widely available across many devices. It is popular with children, who want to spend inside the game to buy different items like outfits to make their Fortnite characters look unique.

The problem is that even if you prevent your children from buying virtual items inside Fortnite on an iPhone, they might make the purchases elsewhere, like on a PlayStation, Xbox or Nintendo console.

To prevent that, you will have to be thorough. Assess which products are in your home, and then set up the parental controls for each device, like the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 or Xbox One.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/06/technology/personaltech/children-charges-mobile-games.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

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