Google already offers parents and guardians tools to restrict purchases their children make on Play Store using the family payment method. The company is now introducing an additional feature that will allow children to send a purchase request for the manager of the family account to approve when there is no present payment method.
Children can ask for approval for both paid apps and in-app purchase when the family hasn’t set up a payments method. Once the family manager gets this request through a notification (or in their request queue), they can use their own payment method, including Google Play gift cards, to approve the request and make the purchase. The manager can look at these requests under pending and history tabs.
This method works best when you want to have full control over your children’s purchases and family spending. You can see all apps and in-app purchases children are interacting with and decline the ones that you think are harmful — or not necessary for whatever reason.
Google has introduced a number of changes in recent months to put better oversight on how children interact with its services. In October, the company rolled out a redesigned Family Link app with highlights, controls and location tabs alongside granting it a web version. Last month, it announced policy tweaks for the Play Store, making the requirements for an app to be certified as a “kids” app stricter.
Comment