“The App Store makes it quick and easy to buy and download new software for your iOS device,” Dan Moren reports for Macworld. “But for the parents of iPhone-, iPad-, or iPod touch-toting kids, that process might be a little bit too easy.”
“Stories of kids racking up outrageous charges on their parents’ credit cards have grabbed headlines lately, and while Apple has responded to concerns from parents and politicians about the ease of accidental purchases, some of the burden still falls on you to secure an iOS device before handing it off to your child,” Moren explains.
Moren writes, “If your iPad or iPhone winds up in your kids’ hands on occasion, there are a few simple steps you can take to avoid unwanted purchases.”
Read more in the full article – recommended – here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Lynn W.” for the heads up.]
“some of the burden still falls on you to secure an iOS device before handing it off to your child”
SOME??? When will people stop abdicating parental responsibilities?
Just don’t give your kids the password to an iTunes account with a credit card. How hard can it be? Stupid parents.
agreed, but.. parents need to remember to turn off the stay logged in setting in the itunes account.
I love the “its apple’s fault” comments.
Since when did Apple take over the Parents responsibility?
i’m not aware of iParent.
Yes but the default setting is once you login to the app store you stayed logged in for a while. There should be an option that allows you to make free downloads but paid ones require password every time even if your logged in.
How about talking to your kids and letting them know what’s up with app purchases, money, etc.? That’s what I did with my kids. I don’t mind if they buy a book or app every now and then, but I want to know about it. I also warned them about in-app purchases. No problems.
Step 1:
Don’t give your kids your account passwords
There is no step 2.
You would be amazed.
I support Macs and all the cool devices. It just kills me when a parent doesn’t even bother to read about what the new toy does when giving it to little Johny.
I make a point to tell parents of my kids’s friends what all is on the old iPod Touch. “Unrestricted YouTube” usually gets their attention.
They are surprised that Apple has all these great ways to restrict by age and content.
RTFM