Technology has been a huge lifesaver this year, especially when it comes to keeping our kids occupied while we work, cook, clean, and hold everything together as they sit around the house 24/7. But one family just learned the hard way that if you don't pay attention to your app settings, you might just end up footing a huge bill.
A Connecticut child just racked up a huge one when playing an app called Sonic Forces. The charges came to a grand total of $16,293.10 — all from purchasing rings in the game! The charges went straight to his mom's PayPal account, which was linked to the iPad her son was using. But she didn't even realize it until she saw charge after charge on the account.
She had no idea what all of those mysterious charges were, especially because they ranged in price from $53 all the way up to $600! The mystery was soon solved when she contacted her bank. Yikes!
Mystery charges can be scary, but when they add up to over $16,000 and you have no idea where they came from? That's downright terrifying! Jessica Johnson found quite a few on her PayPal account, and they were all due to her son playing an app where the game allowed him to purchase rings.
Jessica had to jump through some hoops after she noticed the charges. Her bank told her they couldn't offer her a refund and she would have to talk directly to the company. So she contacted Apple as well as Sega, the video game developer that owns Sonic the Hedgehog.
Apple told Good Morning America that it was able to provide Johnson with a refund for all the charges the company was able to identify. It doesn't sound like she got all of her money back, but definitely a good portion of it. "For over a decade, the App Store has proved to be the safest and most trusted place to discover and download apps," Apple told GMA in a statement. "We understand mistakes can still happen and work with customers to investigate, educate them on the tools available for their protection and, in this case, provided the customer with a refund."
The whole experience had to be pretty jarring no matter what. Realizing that your kid can so easily rack up such a huge bill without you even noticing is pretty ridiculous! But honestly? It could happen to the best of us. How many parents haven't just given their kids the iPad and let them have free rein? Especially in the times we're living in, it's a pretty common practice.
That's why Jessica is speaking out about what happened and letting other parents know that it could easily happen to them. "As a mother of young children, I thought it was important for other parents to be aware of it," she told GMA. "It's unfortunate, because we're all in a pandemic, we're all working from home. We are working really hard to keep our kids entertained while getting work done. We're sometimes inclined to say, 'Here, take the iPad.' I think, clearly, it backfired in my case."
The important thing for parents to be aware of is the settings on their devices. It's something Jessica hadn't really paid attention to. We're guessing she will now. "I didn't realize there was a setting where the child could continue to buy without the password after a certain amount of time," she said. "There are various settings that now I'm learning about."
There are a few different settings you can choose from to help avoid situations like this. You can set your devices to require a password for any in-app purchase, for certain purchases, or every 15 minutes. Not being aware of these options can clearly cause some pretty big issues — and massive bills!
Jessica also believes that some of these games are designed to persuade kids to keep clicking and keep buying. "It's intentionally designed to be a brain chemistry experience that one would get as an adult in a casino," she said. In this particular game, players compete for rings that allow them to upgrade characters. And it seems pretty easy to make those purchases without even realizing that real dollars are being spent.
Yes, we all need to pay attention to what our kids are doing on their devices. But it would be pretty nice if it didn't feel like game companies were preying on our kids. It's all too easy for kids to make purchases without even knowing it. A $2.99 movie or $1.99 app is one thing. But the ability of a small child to spend thousands? I mean, maybe it shouldn't be quite so easy.
This family may be a little late catching on. But it's great that they are sharing their hard lesson — that we all need to pay attention to app settings — with others. Still, the reality is that when parents learn which apps make it so easy for kids to make huge purchases, they're likely going to simply delete them and allow apps that are a bit more ethical. There are plenty to choose from, after all.
