Having your credit card linked to your device ensures smooth online purchases, but the downside is that a child could easily make online purchases without your approval. Here’s how to prevent kids from spending money without your knowledge.

Ask for Passwords When Making In-App Purchases

Kids are often drawn to premium items offered by games that require real money for purchase. There have been numerous cases where children have used their parents’ iPhones to make these purchases without informing them. For instance, one high-profile example involved a child spending over $6,000 in the Apple App Store by making 180 in-app purchases in games like Minecraft without notifying his parents.

If you want to avoid finding yourself in a similar situation, it’s better to configure your iPhone to require a password whenever someone attempts to make a purchase. It goes without saying that you should never share the password with anyone, as doing so defeats the purpose of setting it up.

To configure your iPhone to ask for a password when making in-app purchases, open the Settings app, select “Screen Time,” and choose “Content & Privacy Restrictions.” Then, enable the “Content & Privacy Restrictions” toggle and type your Screen Time passcode.

Select “iTunes & App Store Purchases,” and choose “Always Require” in the Require Password section.

You’re all done! Future purchases will always require a password, so be sure to keep it hidden.

Disable In-App Purchases on iPhone

If you’re sure you won’t be making any in-app purchases from your iPhone, you can configure your device to block them entirely. To do this, open the Settings app and go to Screen Time > Content & Privacy Restrictions > iTunes & App Store Purchases.

Select “In-App Purchases” and choose “Don’t Allow.” Enter your Screen Time passcode to confirm your selection.

Now, whenever you try to make an in-app purchase, you’ll receive an error message from the app saying that you’ll need to change your iPhone settings to make purchases.

Set Up Family Sharing’s “Ask to Buy” Feature

The Screen Time method mentioned above will be helpful if your child is trying to make a purchase from your iPhone. But what if the child has their own iPhone? In this case, setting up Content & Privacy restrictions may not be effective, as they may eventually figure out the password.

In this scenario, you’ll need to use the Apple’s Family Sharing feature. To begin with, open the Settings app on your iPhone, tap your name at the top, and select “Family.” In the Invite Family window, tap the “Invite” button next to your child’s contact and then hit the send icon in the message window that pops up.

On your child’s iPhone, open the invitation message and select “Accept.” Then, choose “Join Family.”

Next, on your iPhone, open the Settings app, tap your name, and choose “Family.” Tap your child’s banner, select “Ask to Buy,” and choose “Turn On Ask to Buy.”

Whenever your child tries to make a purchase or download an app on their iPhone, they’ll receive an “Ask Permission” pop-up. When your child hits the “Ask” button, you’ll receive an approval request on your iPhone. You’ll have the ability to decide whether to approve the request and allow the purchase or decline it.

In addition to the methods mentioned above, you might want to avoid handing your iPhone (especially one with crucial information like saved credit card details) to your kids. Not only can they easily make transactions using the stored credit card information, but they may do so accidentally or make purchases on unscrupulous websites, potentially exposing your credit card information to online scammers.