Preventing your kids from abusing the app store to buy things without your explicit consent.
Episode #13-22 released on April 7, 2023
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Every year millions of dollars are refunded to parents of kids and teenagers who circumvent various forms of security in order to be able to make purchases in applications that sell digital junk. Of that, we can presume there are millions more that are probably not refunded for various reasons, and all this is due to the attractiveness of some of the visually appealing modifications made for some games. Some of the in-game items may also allow these kids and teens the ability to play longer in a game, as well.
There are several methods to avoid issues with these kinds of unwanted purchases. And we will focus on Apple devices, in this episode.
The first method is to set content and privacy restrictions. Make sure to indicate this is your child's device. At this point you will be going into screen time, then set up screen time for family. You have to set a code that is not the same as the phone, obviously. You, also, have to go into content and privacy restrictions, enter the passcode and turn on content and privacy restrictions. You want to restrict access to things like the app store and other settings. You can prevent the installation and removal of applications, too.
For purchases, you can head over to settings, then tap on your name, then Family sharing, then the family member's name, and then tap ask to buy, then the family member's name, again. You can turn on or off option to require purchase approval. This will significantly reduce the risk that your kids and teens can make purchases without permission.
The last detail, how you pay for things in your Apple account matters. You really should be using gift cards or a reloadable card instead of a primary account card. This will avoid issues will anyone bypassing any security methods and just spending the money anyway. Especially, if the card is left at zero until you want to charge something. This prevents any form of circumvention of security, which is always possible. Regardless of all the technology available, most kids and teenagers are quite capable of figuring out how to circumvent safe guards or know someone who can. If the payment method is safeguarded by being unloaded with funds, it will be therefore impossible to use a circumvention to load games and other items.
Preventing the installation of applications, removal of applications, and requiring approval will aid you in preventing your children and teens from circumventing many aspects of the phone. It will also allow you to make sure they do not use sketchy applications that may act as a backdoor to other applications and the operating system. You can essentially mitigate the risk of Jailbreaking an iPhone or iPad by blocking the installation of applications.
Another set of techniques that may help is to avoid having the iPhones and iPads from charging in their rooms, and using docks in a central location, but that might cause more backlash, but it would allow for more control. And, using smart Wi-Fi systems where you can, also, shut off access to internet is, also, a good idea. Just make sure to disable any ability to your kids and teens from authorizing carriers to allow them to bypass their bandwidth limits, which is, also, an issue, which can be mitigated by using a pay as you go scheme. If the Internet just turns off when they use up all their Internet bandwidth allotment, they will learn to conserve it more, and likely abuse it less. However, if you fail to lock down any bandwidth over usage, then it will, also, increase your bills exponentially.
Host : Steve Smith | Music : | Editor : Steve Smith | Producer : Zed Axis Dot Net