There was my son, playing a video game that I had never seen!  As it turns out he did not purchase it.  It came with the tablet, but the icon was hidden along with the App Store Market icons.  I was so excited to see how much he had figured out on his own that I got out my phone and videotaped him playing it.  He explained that he touched the top of the screen, went into the hidden windows and found a game to play.  No harm, no foul, after all it was a free game – right?

The App Store and “In App” purchases

After a while, I began to get these emails from the Android Marketplace: $.99, $.99. $2.99, etc.  Most of the bills were coming from the same maker of my sons favorite game.  Apparently when you go to “change” the clothing of the character (hats, etc), you get billed at $.99 a per clothing item.  I stopped the “accessorizing” fairly quickly but every so often it kept happening.  My son wasn’t going to the App Store, he was simply making changes while playing the game.  These sly purchases are called “In App” purchases.  They can happen by adding a feature or by clicking an advertisement.  Currently there is no way to stop this from happening.  You can only reason with a 4 year old to a certain point, and then you realize that: 1) He can’t read, and 2) He’s only a kid playing a game.

Safeguards

Being the Director of Technology, I did what all tech savvy folks do – I did a google search on “how to stop in app purchases on android”.  What I found was both helpful and confusing.  The point of this blog post is to help with the confusion and share what we found.

Tip#1 – Put a Cap on the Funds

Use a disposable credit card for your account.  I happened to have $12.00 left over on Visa gift card.  I had to register the card online, giving it a Zip Code, but that was a painless procedure.  So, what happens when the card goes empty – your guess is as good as mine.  Stay tuned – more adventures to follow.

Tip #2 - Block the Market

I read on a parent blog that the software “Seal” by sebastianapps would get the job done.  Seal costs 2.00 Euros (about $2.87 US) and lets you set up a password or a pattern password, and choose what apps you can put behind the password.  Although this app allowed me to block the Market, I tested it and found that it did NOT block “in app” purchases. I emailed the developer and he confirmed (and apologized for the confusion) that the app cannot block this type of activity.  Although this attempt failed, it resulted in the finding of an invaluable tool.  I can now block what apps can and cannot be accessed by students (and my children).  You can get Seal here.

Tip #3 – Block In-App Purchases

A quick search on the market turned up an app called Wallet Guard which costed $.99 US.  Wallet Guard does in fact, block both the App Marketplace and “in app” purchases!  I loaded the app onto a Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 without any problems.  Our only problem with the Wallet Guard is that it would not install correctly on our Wifi Motorola Xoom’s and it wasn’t even recognized by our Verizon Xoom’s (they do not have data plans activated).  You can get Wallet Guard here.

So after a bit of trial and error we are better off but not yet entirely safe. Let us know what solutions you have found!

Update:  After writing this post I checked my email and found yet another $.99 bill.  My son found another App that was not blocked by Wallet Gaurd.  More to follow.