The temptation to spend a few dollars in your favorite Android game is always there — especially if you’re an avid gamer — but that small amount can rapidly snowball into a large sum of money if you’re not careful. Conversely, you might not be tempted, but if someone else often uses your Android phone or tablet, then it may also be wise to secure it from accidental (or purposeful) purchases that could come back to bite you in the wallet.
Luckily, it’s easy to protect yourself against this on Android devices, and we put together a quick guide to help you better manage the dreaded in-app purchase. After all, little Johnny may want those extra lives in Candy Crush Saga, but your bank account certainly does not.
Activating Google’s account protection measures
Google has a good few ways of ensuring that your device is protected against unintended purchases, and the best way is requiring a password before any purchase can be made. There are a couple of options here: The Play Store can be set to require a password for every purchase, every 30 minutes, or never. Obviously, we recommend setting it to every time. It’s super easy to get it set up.
- Open the Google Play Store on your device.
- Tap the hamburger menu (the three lines) on the left side of the search bar.
- Scroll down to Settings.
- Select the Require Authentication For Purchases option.
- Ensure the first option, indicating all purchases, is selected.
- When setting this up or disabling it, Google will usually ask for your account password.
Even if you don’t activate this option, Google Play will always ask for your account password in apps with a 12-or-under age rating. This way, it will do the same for every in-app purchase.
How to use your fingerprint scanner for purchase authentication
- Open up the Google Play Store on your device.
- Tap the hamburger menu (the three lines) on the left side of the search bar.
- Scroll down to Settings.
- Select the Require Authentication For Purchases option.
- You need to make sure you select the first option. That’s how you apply the setting to all purchases.
- When setting this up or disabling it, Google will usually ask for your account password.
It doesn’t get much easier than that. Remember that Google Play will always ask for your account password in apps with a 12-or under age rating, even if you don’t enable the option to verify all purchases. If you do activate this option, Google Play will ask for your account password for all in-app purchases.
To keep your device extra-secure, Enable your fingerprint scanner for purchase authentication. That way, even if someone does get ahold of your password, they won’t be able to purchase apps without you knowing about it. After all, better safe than sorry.
Take advantage of the technological advances that allow even pretty basic smartphones to require fingerprint or biometric authentication for an added level of security, and keep your account safe from unwanted purchases. Setting up fingerprint authentication is actually very easy to do.
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