Block in-app purchases. Before the next bill.
Mobile games are engineered to convert impulse into payment, and children are the group least equipped to resist that design. Turning purchases off takes about three minutes per device.
iPhone and iPad
Turn off in-app purchases entirely
- Settings → Screen Time.
- Content & Privacy Restrictions → turn on.
- iTunes & App Store Purchases.
- Set In-app Purchases to Don't Allow.
- Also set Installing Apps and Deleting Apps deliberately while you're here.
Always require a password
- Same screen → Require Password.
- Choose Always Require.
The default is a 15-minute grace window after a password entry — which is precisely how a child buys eleven things in a row having watched you type the password once.
Ask to Buy (Family Sharing)
- Settings → tap your name → Family Sharing.
- Tap your child → Ask To Buy → turn on.
Every purchase now sends a request to your phone. This is the best of the three because it doesn't require you to say no to everything.
Android
Require authentication for every purchase
- Open the Play Store → tap your profile icon.
- Settings → Authentication → Require authentication for purchases.
- Choose For all purchases through Google Play on this device.
Play Store parental controls
- Play Store → profile icon → Settings → Family → Parental controls.
- Turn on and set a PIN different from the device unlock PIN.
- Set content ratings for apps and games.
Remove the payment method
The most effective step of all: don't leave a card attached to a child's account. Use gift-card balance instead — it caps the maximum loss at whatever's loaded.
Block the storefronts, not just the payments
Defenras blocks game currency reseller and scam sites — the ones kids reach for once the official purchase route is closed.
Get Defenras free →The routes that stay open
- Carrier billing. Charges land on the phone bill without touching a card. Turn it off in Play Store payment settings, or ask your carrier to bar third-party charges.
- Gift card codes. A code redeemed into the account spends without authentication. Fine — that's the point of using them — but know the balance is spendable.
- Third-party currency sites. "Free Robux" and "cheap V-Bucks" sites are near-universally scams that harvest account credentials. Defenras blocks these by default.
- A friend's account. No technical control covers this one.
If charges already happened
Apple
- Go to reportaproblem.apple.com.
- Sign in and find the purchase.
- Choose Request a refund and select the unauthorised-purchase reason.
- Go to play.google.com/store/account/orderhistory.
- Find the order → Request a refund.
- If declined, contact Google Play support directly and state that a minor made the purchase without authorisation.
Both stores have processes specifically for purchases made by children without permission, and both are more generous than the standard refund policy suggests — particularly for a first occurrence. Ask plainly, say a child made the purchase, and don't accept the first automated decline as final.
The conversation worth having
Turning purchases off solves this month. What solves next year is your child understanding that loot boxes, timed offers, and streak mechanics are designed by professionals to produce exactly the urgency they're feeling. Kids find this genuinely interesting when it's framed as "here's how they're playing you" rather than "you're bad with money."
Frequently asked questions
My child spent hundreds in a game. Can I get it back?
Often, yes — especially for a first claim. Use Apple's reportaproblem.apple.com or Google Play's order history refund flow and state clearly that a child made the purchases without authorisation.
Does turning off in-app purchases break free games?
No. Free games still work; the purchase button fails. Some games nag heavily about it, which is its own argument for a different game.
Can my child use carrier billing to get around this?
Yes, if it's enabled. Turn off carrier billing in Play Store payment settings and consider asking your carrier to bar third-party charges on the line.
Are 'free Robux' sites safe?
No. They're overwhelmingly credential-harvesting scams — the account gets stolen, not upgraded. Defenras blocks this category by default.
Defenras blocks all of this — without collecting your child's data.
One app, every device, every browser. Adult content, gambling, vaping, scams, malware, social media — all blocked. PIN-locked. Free version available, no credit card.