I was browsing through the news headlines the other day, and I came across another of those techie horror stories – a child using an iPad that had run up over a thousand pounds of debt on in-app purchases!
I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve seen similar stories, so I thought this would be a good time to make sure you all know how to stop it happening on your device.
The simplest way is to make sure you have to type in your password for every purchase through the store – and that includes in-app purchases.
Here’s how to do it:
On an Android phone or tablet: Open the Play Store app. Tap the three lines in the top left-hand corner of the screen and then tap on “Settings” in the menu that appears. Then if you swipe up on the screen a bit, you’ll get to an option called “Require authentication for purchases”. Tap on that, and make sure the top option is highlighted.
On an iPhone or iPad: Open the main Settings app. Swipe up on the screen until you get to “iTunes & App Store”. Tap on that, and then on “Password Settings” on the next screen. Make sure the option “Always Require” is ticked.
You might also have a setting to use either your fingerprint or your face to confirm purchases. If you think that might be too easy to do accidentally, I suggest you leave it turned off (it should be off by default).
It’s a fairly simple step, but it could help save you a fortune in accidental purchases!
Now – while I’m here, I just had a few quick things to say about the smartphone course…
Paying by instalments
In case you’re wondering, yes there is an “instalment plan” for the new course “Smartphones Made Simple”, if you’d rather not pay in one go. The details are in the full information – if you want the instalments, just make sure you click the red button marked “Join paying by 3 instalments”.
A rather unusual guarantee
The course has a rather unusual guarantee: “If at any time in the 12 months after you join the course you decide you’re not happy with it, contact us (phone or email is best but anything short of a carrier pigeon will do) and we’ll refund you in full.”
That way you get to join without worrying “But what if it’s no good for me” because if it turns out that it doesn’t suit you, just let us know.
Please tell us what you think
It’s always good to hear from people who are actually using our books and courses – to see how they’re getting on with them. So if you’ve already joined the Smartphones Made Simple course, feel free to let us know what you think (the simplest way is to reply to this email). If you haven’t joined, maybe it’s worth a look?
Read the full information and see how to join here. Remember that the course closes for new enrolments at the end of this week – so why not have a look now if you think you might find it helpful.