How To Stop Kids Buying Things On Your Devices

Parents have opened up about the dangers of leaving kids to their own devices on their devices, after a viral post showed how easily a child was able to spend their parents’ money while using their iPad.

In January, parenting influencers Cole and Abbie shared their son had been on a secret shopping spree on their iPad, paying for a load of Apple services. “I didn’t think it was possible without my Face ID but here we are. Massive lesson learnt,” wrote the influencers at the time.

They weren’t the only ones to fall victim to it, either.

In response to Cole and Abbie’s misfortune, one commenter said: “It’s a parental right of passage to have your bank account cleared by a threenager. Mine did it on Amazon through the Alexa buying fart sounds.”

Another said: “My son wanted a rabbit so, while playing games on my phone, went on to Amazon and brought a hutch for £150, didn’t realised till it turned up at my door… and his answer was ‘can I have my rabbit now?’.”

“Been there done that!” added another parent, noting their child had purchased 100 fidget toys and 100 lip balms. Eek.

With kids still off school, experts from Protect Your Bubble are urging parents to check one particular setting on their devices to stop their bank accounts from accidentally being emptied.

James Brown, director at Protect Your Bubble, said: “It’s easy to assume that payments need passwords or additional approval; however, many devices and accounts allow instant spending once a card is saved to the account.”

He continued: “From a child’s perspective, it doesn’t feel like spending real money; however, for parents, it can mean hundreds, or even thousands, disappearing before they notice.”

First of all, turn off one-touch payments on devices and require approval for every purchase. “This single change can stop accidental spending instantly, and it takes less than two minutes to set up,” Brown said.

Households using Apple devices with Family Sharing set up should also turn on Ask to Buy, which blocks all purchases until they are approved.

Games consoles are also an easy way to wrack up debt. Brown noted they are “often overlooked, despite being one of the biggest risks”.

“Saved card details on PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo accounts can lead to purchases stacking up quickly,” he noted.

The expert recommends removing saved payment cards from accounts and setting monthly spending limits in console settings. You can also enable PINs or passwords for purchases.

“Consoles are where costs could spiral fastest,” he ended. “Prevention is far easier than trying to recover the money afterwards, and this is one of the most important tech checks parents can make this winter.”