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Question from Michelle: I sometimes hand my phone to my 9 year old son so he can play a game.
Well, I recently found out that he sneaked into the Google Play store and bought several games without my permission.
We had a long mother-son talk and he assured me that he won’t do it again, but I’d really like to make sure he (nor anyone else) can ever do that again. Is there something I can do to prevent this from happening again?
Rick’s answer: This actually is a very common problem, Michelle.
Parents the world over find themselves having to pay for apps that were downloaded by their kids on a daily basis.
Luckily, all it takes is a simple settings change to require whoever is using your phone to enter the password for your Google account before being allowed to make a Google Play purchase. Just follow the steps below:
1 – Tap the Play Store icon to open the Google Play Store app.
2 – Tap your tiny profile photo avatar in the top-right corner of the screen.
3 – Tap Payments & subscriptions.
4 – Tap Purchase verification.
5 – Tap Verification frequency and select Always.
6 – Tap OK.
That’s it – you’re done! From now on you can hand your phone to your son (or anyone else) without worrying that he might purchase an app/game without your permission (as long as they don’t know the password to your Google account).
Bonus tip: Want to learn more about Android (and how to use its many tools and features to make your life easier and more enjoyable)? Check this out! (#ad)