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What are in-app/in-game purchases?
In-app or in-game purchases are a growing trend in many apps/games that children play or use. Typically, they allow children to buy additional content or unlock new items within the app/game. In some instances, the child may only have an opportunity to win/obtain something, with no guarantees of success. Which is effectively gambling for children.
In addition, you may also have the opportunity to buy a virtual currency for these apps/games. This can be spent on different things within the app/game. Developers are seemingly using this more and more within the apps/games as a way of earning extra income. The content available to purchase will usually make a significant difference to your enjoyment of the app or ability to play the game. As a result, this makes it very appealing for children especially.
In the news recently…
I was reading a news story about a child who spent £2,500 of their parent’s money on in-app purchases for the Roblox app. An article which you can read here for yourself. I have heard of stories like this before and have worked with a handful of families myself, who have had children who would spend £50-100 without their knowledge. However, £2,500 is a huge amount of money to go on in-app purchases!
Thankfully, in the news story above the money was refunded. But it does raise the question of whether these amounts of money should be able to be spent on in-app/in-game purchases? Currently, the responsibility does fall entirely on the parent to manage these purchases. The problem with this can be that children are very savvy and in many cases, are actually more skilled in using technology than their parents. This imbalance of knowledge means that children can sometimes out manoeuvre their parents and get around any restrictions that are in place!
How aware are you of in-app/in-game purchases?
Many parents will have experienced their children asking or even begging for them to make in-app/game purchases, or buy these virtual currencies. However, there are also parents who are completely unaware of these aspects within apps/games. If your bank details are already stored on the devices used for these apps/games, you could be in trouble!
Related Post: How do video games promote gambling behaviours with children?
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Purchases can be addictive
These purchases can be very addictive for young people. Which is why a lot of the purchases can be categorised as a form of gambling. There is a competitive nature amongst groups of young people to be the best at certain games, have the best items or stand out amongst their peers in the game. A quick way of doing that is by making purchases. When one child does this, their friend will inevitably want to do the same. The domino affect continues and this can apply a lot of parental peer pressure.
It isn’t just in-app/in-game purchases to watch out for
There have been multiple instances in families I have worked with, where the children have been able to buy themselves toys, devices or items online, as their parent’s bank details were stored on the device. Websites like Amazon and many other popular shopping apps allows you to have bank details stored so you can make immediate purchases. Therefore, this is a perfect opportunity for a child with sufficient motive, to be able to buy themselves some gifts! Not that it will take much of a motive!
Again, stories like the above are becoming more common. Therefore, as a parent it is important that you are aware of the risk and take preventative action.
Related Post: 6 Tips to keep your child safe online
What should parents do?
In this technological age, we are storing more and more personal information and bank details virtually. For example, we are now linking our bank cards to our phones, saving details in websites or storing them on different devices.
Therefore, it is important that you are aware of where your details are stored, how easily they can be accessed and what security is in place to protect these details. This is even more important if devices are shared with children. Whether it be intentional or unintentional, if bank details are stored and children have access to them, there is the risk of purchases being made.
Many apps will state that there are steps in place to prevent such situations. However, when broken down it is still the responsibility of the parent to ensure the appropriate measures have been taken to protect and prevent these type of situations. It is a lot more stressful and challenging to deal with purchases after they have been made!
In summary, be mindful as a parent and perhaps ask yourself, where are your bank details saved? How secure are they? Could your child get access to them accidently or purposefully? Also, it can be worth double checking what in-app/-in game purchases are available on the apps/games your child plays.
Has your child ever made any purchases without your knowledge? If so, what did they buy? Let me know in the comments!
(This post contains links from affiliates of this blog. If you make a purchase via the links, you will get a discount and I will earn a small commission at no extra cost to yourself. So everybody wins! All affiliate links will be labelled as such).
I’ve heard so many stories on the news about children making in-app game purchases and sometimes racking up huge costs. It’s definitely something to be aware of try to make sure it can’t/doesn’t happen. The way the apps are set up seem to deliberately make this easier than it should be!
Wow! That was a lot of money, it is good they got refunded. My nephew did something similar. I think it was under £100 but it still a lot. I think this happens probably a lot more than reported. I think it is cheeky of them to design an app that way. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
Lauren