Kids and video games often go together like peanut butter and jelly. Here’s something else that goes along with some video games: Ads competing for your kid’s attention at every stage of their video game-playing experience — while they look for video games on the app store, while they select and download games, and during gameplay. Learn how to deal with ads that encourage kids to spend money — sometimes without your knowledge or approval.
Some kids’ video games say they’re ad free…but they’re not. Next thing you know, your kid starts seeing ads for things to buy to unlock additional game features. Or maybe you pay for a game subscription thinking it’ll give your kid full access to the game. Except while playing the game, they see ads for parts of the game they can only get to if they click. What the game might not make clear? Each click is a payment.
Consider these steps to find games that work for your family and reduce the chance of unexpected purchases.
- Read online reviews and ratings before you download an app or video game. Watch online videos of people playing the game. See what other people are saying about it. Consider looking at reviews with your kid to see if the game is a good match.
- Use parental controls to disable in-app purchases or require a password for all purchases on your phone or tablet. For example:
- Talk about family rules for your kids using apps and games.
Keep up with FTC cases in this space — like the one against the makers of Fortnite — by signing up for Consumer Alerts. And check out kids and video games for more advice on this topic.
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