Xbox Family Settings app can now manage kids' spending
Gaming consoles like the Xbox are often considered to be a solitary machine for a solitary gamer, but that hasn't been the case for the past years. Consoles have even become a means by which families spend time together at home or for kids to develop skills often associated with safe gaming. The latter is an important consideration for parents who want to give their kids access to consoles and the games available for them. The Xbox Family Settings app tries to make that task less of a chore, and its newest features promise to save parents money or prevent them from accidentally losing some.
IAPs and accidental game purchases aren't just the banes of mobile gaming. Those can happen on any gaming platform, too, and on any age group. Xbox has provided parents and guardians with ways to monitor and manage a child's use of the console, but parents still need more control and safeguards, especially when money is involved. The latest update to the parental control app for Android and iOS finally delivers that, allowing parents to monitor and limit spending on games.
Parents will be able to set limits on how much a child can spend when buying games or making in-app purchases. Of course, that presupposes that kids have a sort of "wallet" for buying those. The app does let parents add and view a child's balance, allowing them to give kids a reward for good grades or chores well done.
In case their money does run out, kids can also ask their parents if they can buy a game. Parents can either buy it on their behalf or give them additional money for it. Of course, they can also deny the request.
Parents can also keep track of what their kids buy with the money given to them, in case they give them the trust and freedom to make their own purchases without having to ask every time. The app's new features not only empower parents but also empower children to make their own decisions and earn the trust of their parents to further give them more freedom when it comes to their gaming choices.