Kids, Gaming & In-App Purchases
Many "free" games make money from in-game purchases. Children can spend real money with a tap, sometimes hundreds of dollars before a parent notices. Scammers also target young players with fake offers.
- Parents
- Caregivers
- Kids & Teens
How kids get charged
- Saved payment methods on phones, tablets, consoles and app stores that let purchases go through with one tap.
- In-app purchases: coins, skins, boosts and passes.
- Loot boxes and random reward packs that encourage repeated spending, like gambling.
- Subscriptions and free trials that renew automatically.
- Gift cards bought in stores, where kids may share codes with strangers.
- Using a parent's device after the parent has signed in or authenticated with a fingerprint.
Set up protections
- Turn on parental controls on every console, phone, tablet and store account. See Parental Controls
- Require a password or approval for every purchase, and do not share it. Turn off one-click purchasing
- Remove saved credit cards, or use prepaid cards or allowances with spending limits
- Use family sharing features that send you purchase requests
- Review bank and card statements and app store purchase history every month
- Set up email alerts for receipts
- Check subscriptions and cancel unwanted ones
Talk to your kids
- Explain that in-game items cost real money, and that loot boxes are designed to be hard to stop.
- Agree on a monthly budget, and what they can buy.
- Teach them never to share passwords, gift card codes, or payment info, and never to trade items outside the game. See Online Gaming.
- Warn about scams: free currency generators, hack tools, "get free skins" links and strangers asking for gift cards. See Payment App Scams.
- Make it safe for them to tell you if they made a mistake or if someone is pressuring them. See Kids Online Safety.
If a child already spent money
- Check the app store and game account for the charges and policies.
- Request a refund quickly through the store or platform. Many have processes for unauthorized or accidental purchases by minors, though refunds aren't guaranteed.
- Contact your bank or card issuer if there was fraud.
- Change passwords and settings. Report scams to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. See Reporting Cybercrime.
Standards & references
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