Managing Your Money: Avoid Unexpected iPhone App Store Bills

It isn't uncommon to hear horror stories of parents finding their children have innocently or inadvertently run up huge bills on iOS devices which they have been given to occupy them whilst parents are occupied elsewhere. It is avoidable and, if you don't take precautions to stop it from happening, Apple is unlikely to look kindly on your refund requests when it comes time to pay the piper.

As a matter of course you should require every purchase or App Store download to require authentication - Face ID, Touch ID or by entering a passcode. Go to Settings, tap your Apple ID account at the top of the screen, then choose Media & Purchases, and Password Settings. Here, you should select Always Require Password, which will ensure that nothing gets bought without your express authority. It should go without saying that you should never hand your device to anyone and give them your password as well.

As there are certain apps - Amazon for example - where its possible to make purchases without invoking the Apple payment process, you might also want to limit the device to a single app for a youngster to use. You can use Guided Access Mode to do this, which locks the iOS device into kiosk mode and prevents access into the system for inquisitive young minds. To turn on Guided Access Mode Go to Settings, Accessibility and turn on Guided Access. You'll need to set a password, so click on Password Settings then Set Guided Access Passcode.

Enter a passcode and set up Face ID or Touch ID to make things easier for yourself. Finally to enter Guided Access, start the app you want to allow access to and then triple tap the side button or home button, depending upon your device, to lock things to that app.

If you want to give less restrictive access, especially if its more than a one-off, you can use Screen Time to create a profile which restricts access to apps on the device. Go to Settings, Screen Time and then choose Content & Privacy Restrictions. From here you can block access to purchases and downloads and restrict which apps are allowed to be used. Finally, if your child has their own device, make sure they are part of your Family Group and turn on Screen Time for their device, locking down purchases and apps in the same way.

The last thing you want is an unexpected credit card bill - this is one way to ensure you don't get caught out.