Pin It

Turn off in-app purchases and other parental controls on the iPad or iPhone

bontime | Dec 14, 2010 |

0 Comments | Rating: 0

The iPhone is a great babysitter and educational toy, but it can be dangerous to your pocketbook. Fortunately you can turn off in-app purchases on the iPad or iPhone which can prevent you from getting an outrageous iTunes bill from an out of control app and hapless child. If you are like most people, you let your child use your iPad and iPhone to pass the time. But certain games offer in app purchases which is a temptation some kids have a hard time resisting. Fortunately, Apple has finally come up with way to disable in app purchases as well as restrict usage of your iPhad device if you have iOS 4.2 or newer. You can set your device from accessing iTunes, regular app installation, YouTube and even web browsing. Now you can feel safe letting the little ones run off with your device without worrying what they could purchase or that they are viewing inappropriate content. It just takes a few simple steps:

Things You Will Need

iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch
iOS 4,2 or newer

Step 1

Start the Settings app

Step 2

Once inside the settings app, select the "General" option.

Step 3

Scroll down the General options until you see "Restrictions". Select that option.

Step 4

The iPad/iPhone will bring up the control panel for all of the restrictions. Here you can restrict access to: iTunes, installing apps, deleting apps, purchasing inside apps, using the camera, YouTube and even accessing Safari. Apple has even given you the ability to disable changes to locations or accounts as well as controlling if a user can play multiplayer games or add friends. To access the "Restrictions" you need to first enable the feature.

Step 5

This will bring up a password screen. You need to select a password for the restrictions. It is a good idea to make it different from the password on the phone. Otherwise your child will be able to turn off the parental controls if they already know your iPad password. Your device will ask you to re-enter the password to make sure.

Step 6

This will enable the feature and you can restrict any sevice you want. The most popular services to disable are in App purchases and iTunes. Other options allow you to restriction Music, Movies, TV Shows and Apps to specific ages. Once you go back to the main screens, you will not see a service you have restricted. If you want to use a restricted service, you need to return to the "Restrictions" menu to re-enable it.

Other iPhone and iPad Tips & Tricks