Xbox Family Settings app adds new settings for managing children’s expenses

When we launched the Xbox Family Settings app last year, our goal was to make it easier for parents and caregivers to manage their children’s games on the go. Available for free on iOS and Android, the app allows parents to create child accounts, update screen time limits, respond to notifications, manage who their children can play and communicate with, and much more – all from their phone. It’s an easy way to strike the right balance between gaming in family life and making sure there is time for school, homework, exercising, and spending time with friends.

One of the most important feedback we’ve had from parents about the Xbox Family Settings app is the inclusion of options to track and manage children’s expenses. The feedback ranged from “I would like to deposit money into my child’s account as a reward for good grades on the certificate. Can I do this through the app? ”To“ I want to give my child an allowance to spend money on games through the app ”and“ How do I manage how much money my son can spend while he is playing? I don’t want any surprises! “

We heard your feedback and we’re excited to announce several new features in the app today to help you manage your child’s expenses:

• Set spending limits: Parents can manage their children’s expenses by adding funds to their account directly from the app – you decide how much your child can spend. The funds you wish to add to your child’s account can apply to all purchases, including games, in-game purchases such as skins and apps.

This feature is also a great way to reward your child. For example, if they are doing their weekly chores, you can add money to their account as weekly pocket money. Or add money to their account if they did particularly well on a math test recently. Whatever the reason, use this feature to make sure your child is on budget and prevent unexpected expenses.

• Please buy Enable this feature to receive a notification every time your child tries to make a purchase that they don’t have enough credit to make. Parents can then make the purchase on their child’s behalf (if it’s a game or app) or add funds to their account for an in-game purchase, e.g. B. a new skin or an accessory. And if you don’t want to approve the purchase, just select the “Decline” button in the notification you receive.

• View your child’s account balance: Would you like to know how much money your child still has in their account? You can view your child’s balance at any time and decide whether you want to add additional credit to their account.

Parents can too view your child’s expense history to keep track of your recent purchases.

We know it is important for parents to track and manage their children’s spending while they are playing in order to avoid unexpected surprises or bills. With these new features, parents can customize their family’s access to spending money in games or the Microsoft Store as is right for them. For information on preventing unauthorized purchases on Xbox, see our Support page.

We’ll keep adding new features to the app that parents want. For example, in May we added the ability to authorize multiplayer access – where you can play and communicate with other players – after certain titles directly from your console or in the Xbox Family Settings app. If your child wants to play a particular game in multiplayer, they can send a request to unlock multiplayer for that game, which their parents can approve or reject.

Download the Xbox Family Settings app for free today for iOS and Android to get started and easily manage games for your family!

For more information on the Xbox Family Settings app, see Xbox.com/family-app. Download the app to easily manage your child’s gaming activities on the console.