How to Stop In-App Purchases on Kids' iPhone and Android

Which setting to use

• Your child has their own iPhone or iPad and their own Apple Account: use Ask to Buy. You approve each request from your phone.
• Your child plays on your phone or a shared iPad: block in-app purchases in Screen Time and ask for a password on every purchase.
• Your child has an Android device with a Google Account supervised in Family Link: turn on purchase approvals.
• Your child borrows your Android phone: set purchase verification to Always and think twice about fingerprint verification.

You can combine them: for example, Ask to Buy on your child's iPad and Always Require on your own iPhone, which your child sometimes borrows.

iPhone and iPad: turn on Ask to Buy

Ask to Buy needs Family Sharing and a separate Apple Account for your child that nobody else uses. On your own iPhone or iPad:

1. Open Settings.
2. Tap Family.
3. Tap your child's name.
4. Tap Apps & Websites.
5. Tap Restrictions. Enter your Screen Time passcode if asked.
6. Tap Ask to Buy.
7. Turn on Require Purchase Approval.

Apple turns Ask to Buy on by default for children under 13, and in some places it can't be turned off for anyone under 18. It covers app downloads, in-app purchases and redownloads of shared apps, whatever the app's age rating. It does not send a request when a child redownloads their own purchase, installs an update or uses a redemption code.

You can approve from your iPhone, iPad, Mac or Apple Watch. If you don't answer within 24 hours, your child has to ask again. Missed requests also show up in Messages.

iPhone and iPad: block in-app purchases in Screen Time

This works on any device, including your own phone when your child borrows it. Screen Time must be on first.

1. Open Settings.
2. Tap Screen Time.
3. Tap Apps & Websites.
4. Tap App Store.
5. Tap In-app Purchases.
6. Select Blocked.

On iOS 26 and earlier, Apple's iPhone User Guide gives a different path:

1. Open Settings.
2. Tap Screen Time. If you're managing your child's device, tap their name.
3. Tap Content & Privacy Restrictions.
4. Turn the setting on.
5. Tap iTunes & App Store Purchases and restrict store purchases there.

The App Store chapter of the iOS 27 User Guide still shows this older path, so use it if Screen Time on your device has no Apps & Websites item.

Pick a Screen Time passcode your child hasn't watched you type. If they know it, they can switch the setting back.

iPhone and iPad: ask for a password on every purchase

1. Open Settings.
2. Tap your name.
3. Tap Media & Purchases.
4. Tap Password Settings.
5. Choose Always Require.

The other option, Require After 15 Minutes, skips the password if you entered it in the last 15 minutes. That's the window in which a child on a shared iPad can buy something right after you did. If you don't see Password Settings, Face ID or Touch ID is already on for purchases. Apple says you can't turn off password protection for paid items completely.

Android: set purchase verification to Always

1. Open the Google Play app.
2. Tap your profile picture at the top right.
3. Tap Payments & subscriptions.
4. Tap Purchase verification.
5. Tap Verification frequency. In some regions you'll see Verification requirement instead, which works by payment method.
6. Choose Always. If you see Verification requirement instead, choose All payment methods.
7. Confirm the change.

Google lists three frequency options: "Always (default setting)", "Every 30 minutes" on mobile, and "Never". For apps and games designed for ages 12 and under, Google says it verifies every purchase anyway. The setting applies to the device where you choose it.

Biometrics need care. Google warns that any fingerprint or face stored on the device can verify purchases for every Google Account on it. If your child's fingerprint is saved on your phone, use your Google Account password for purchases instead. The same applies to a screen-lock PIN your child knows.

Android: purchase approvals in Family Link

For a child whose Google Account you manage with Family Link:

1. Open the Family Link app.
2. Select your child at the top left.
3. Tap Controls.
4. Tap Google Play.
5. Under Purchases & download approvals, tap Require approval for.
6. Choose All content, Paid content only, In-app purchases only or Never.

When your child tries to buy, you approve by entering your Google Account password on their device. In the same Google Play section you can set the highest content rating your child can download. The Google Play app has a matching route for family members: profile picture > Settings > Family > Manage family members > [name] > Purchase approvals.

All settings in one table

What these settings don't cover

Both companies' controls apply to purchases billed through them. Google says so directly: purchase approval settings "only apply to purchases made through Google Play's billing system". Apple's refund page notes that in some countries, digital purchases might not be made through Apple at all. A purchase billed by someone else, such as a web checkout, may not be covered by these switches.

Purchase settings also don't remove ads; our guide to reading a kids' app listing shows where the ad labels sit. And a subscription started before you changed anything keeps renewing until someone cancels it, as our Disney Coloring World guide explains step by step.

Checked on 13 October 2026 against Apple Support (Ask to Buy, Screen Time in-app purchases, parental controls, password settings, the iOS 26 and iOS 27 iPhone User Guides) and Google Help (purchase verification, Family Link purchase approvals, Google Play controls). Menu names reflect iOS 27 and the current Play Store and may differ on your device or in your region.