The Accidental Charges
Modern mobile games are largely free to download, but they aggressively push “micro-transactions”—digital items that cost real money. If you hand your iPhone to a child to play a seemingly innocent racing game, they can easily tap a colorful button on the screen and accidentally charge $99 to your attached credit card for a “bag of digital gems.” Even as an adult, it is incredibly easy to accidentally double-click the side button and authorize a massive subscription charge. To protect your bank account, you must lock down the payment gateway at the operating system level.
How to Turn Off In-App Purchases
You can completely sever the connection between downloaded apps and your credit card via the Screen Time settings.
- Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
- Scroll down and tap on Screen Time.
- Tap on Content & Privacy Restrictions.
- Ensure the master toggle switch at the top is turned On.
- Tap on iTunes & App Store Purchases.
- Tap on In-app Purchases.
- Change the selection from “Allow” to Don’t Allow.
The Locked Wallet
The change is absolute and instantaneous. You can now hand your unlocked phone to anyone without fear. If they open a game and explicitly tap a button that says “Buy 500 Coins for $49.99,” the iPhone will instantly block the transaction, throwing a silent system error stating that in-app purchases are not allowed. Your credit card is completely safe from accidental digital storefronts.