My family settings are restricting 13-17 year olds from downloading apps

[colinkiama]

IOS and Android let users over 13 have complete control over the apps they download. However for windows phone it's not the same? Nonsense. This is another reason why windows phone is struggling. Teenagers can't even have control. Allow installation of apps from Store without setting up "My Family" ?€“ Feature Suggestions for Windows Phone

 

[hopmedic]

Myself, as a parent, I appreciate this. Yes, it could be easier to set up, but I would want control over what my kids can do with their phones. Speaking as a parent of young adults who are now (barely) over 18. No way should children be able to have control without oversight.

 

[Torcher Death]

I don't see any problems here.... Its a feature that is required for monitoring the kids & everyone knows how teenage goes

 

[Nerdy Woman]

What do you mean by complete control? My 17 yo racked up $20 in DLC in a single day... Since minors are not responsible for paying the bills, I can understand why the adult responsible for the account has to sign off on that.

Apple is now refunding millions to parents for unauthorized purchases, so I suspect they'll be modifying their store/in-app purchases as well. My older daughter is among them... my 12-yr-old granddaughter bought $250 worth of music one month.

The FTC is suing Amazon over unauthorized in-app purchases.

The fact is, companies are limiting their liability by requiring parents conscientiously agree to pay for whatever their kids do. I would think the only people who would take issue with this are the minors who object to being subjected to parental control. But until they are paying for their own phone bills, that's the way it goes.

 

[colinkiama]

I don't think you guys understand properly. It isn't a choice. If you are under 18 you must set up my family. Have you ever thought that 17 year olds that go college may find this embarrasing? People in iOS and Android that are 13+ don't have to deal with this. All I am saying is that Microsoft should give a choice instead of forcing this on people. And shouldn't microsoft be restricting access for apps that are not for certain ages. Why aren't there age ratings and restrictions in the store itself anyway. In the other stores every app has an age rating and by age, of the user it blocks the user from downloading the app. This is laziness from microsoft. Why should teenagers be restricted by their parents to download temple run?

 

[xrs22]

Is there not a way to have a cap on downloading apps? Such as free only or up to .99?? I have wallet set up on my icon so my 7 year old doesn't download $$$ all day for me to owe. Wallet only does so much though as far as downloading and that's keeping you from spending money.

 

[xandros9]

I'm not yet an adult and picked up my 920 last year.
After poking around, my only option was to create a fake parent account to call me their son.
I believe there are indeed age ratings and whatnot because I was wondering where some games went while the apps were present.
I'm assuming its just something brought up by legal, but I don't like the default option. It could definitely turn off someone less persistent/stubborn than I am.

 

[colinkiama]

What do you mean by complete control? My 17 yo racked up $20 in DLC in a single day... Since minors are not responsible for paying the bills, I can understand why the adult responsible for the account has to sign off on that.

Apple is now refunding millions to parents for unauthorized purchases, so I suspect they'll be modifying their store/in-app purchases as well. My older daughter is among them... my 12-yr-old granddaughter bought $250 worth of music one month.

The FTC is suing Amazon over unauthorized in-app purchases.

The fact is, companies are limiting their liability by requiring parents conscientiously agree to pay for whatever their kids do. I would think the only people who would take issue with this are the minors who object to being subjected to parental control. But until they are paying for their own phone bills, that's the way it goes.

I understand what you mean however this applies to free apps too. Like facebook, temple run even the youtube apps in the store. And your grand daughter doesn't apply to 13-17 year olds. I understand parental control for paid apps and IAPs but for just downloading free apps it's ridiculous.

 

[xrs22]

I understand what you mean however this applies to free apps too. Like facebook, temple run even the youtube apps in the store. And your grand daughter doesn't apply to 13-17 year olds. I understand parental control for paid apps and IAPs but for just download free apps it's ridiculous.

Well they should create a pin for the wallet and turn off the my family. Although there are some pretty bad messaging sites that can be problematic and a little obscene for some.

 

[colinkiama]

I'm not yet an adult and picked up my 920 last year.
After poking around, my only option was to create a fake parent account to call me their son.
I believe there are indeed age ratings and whatnot because I was wondering where some games went while the apps were present.
I'm assuming its just something brought up by legal, but I don't like the default option. It could definitely turn off someone less persistent/stubborn than I am.

Exactly. It shouldn't be on default for 13-17 year olds. There should be an option. That's why there are complaints.

 

[colinkiama]

iOS: Understanding Restrictions (parental controls) ios has the restrictions feature which is great since its an OPTION that restricts buying apps, IAPs and even apps themselves. Happy? If Microsoft can come up with a solution like that, there wouldnt be any complaints in uservoice. Or anyone really. People are just really angry at how its forced on an audience that should be old enough to have at least spme control over the apps they buy in the store.

 

[colinkiama]

Well they should create a pin for the wallet and turn off the my family. Although there are some pretty bad messaging sites that can be problematic and a little obscene for some.

and thats where the age rating problem kicks in. The apps that do have ratings are games. But what about apps like you said? If they made it like iOS so depending on their date of birth, they wouldn't be able to download certain apps. Wouldn't that be OK. I understand you parents want to protect your children but Microsoft executed this very poorly. Someone was talking about a 17 year old spending on dlc. There is an app built into the phone called wallet to restricts IAPs with a pin. I think there was a way to access the app through the store settings too.

 

[colinkiama]

Have you ever wondered why windows phones aren't that popular among teens?

 

[colinkiama]

I'm not yet an adult and picked up my 920 last year.
After poking around, my only option was to create a fake parent account to call me their son.
I believe there are indeed age ratings and whatnot because I was wondering where some games went while the apps were present.
I'm assuming its just something brought up by legal, but I don't like the default option. It could definitely turn off someone less persistent/stubborn than I am.

Some people can lie about their age. Some can do what you did. But people will get turned off.

 

[xandros9]

Have you ever wondered why windows phones aren't that popular among teens?

and its not for this reason, that would require them getting one to begin with.
its just the general perception how it must suck because "oh windows", "viruses", "lol no appz or instagram"

probably best said by the condescending "...why..." from a guy a year below me.
but then again some are in awe.

(i had to free a less-inclined friend of mine in a similar way, such a pain)

 

[xrs22]

Or at least pitch this idea. To have an approval text sent to the parent with what the "teen" is wanting to get. I mean there's gonna be less the likely stipulation to be able to have your kid have what they want and the parent as well. The very least to get a $25 visa card and attach it to the account so they have a cap if they're old enough for particular apps.

 

[jojoe42]

and its not for this reason, that would require them getting one to begin with.
its just the general perception how it must suck because "oh windows", "viruses", "lol no appz or instagram"

probably best said by the condescending "...why..." from a guy a year below me.
but then again some are in awe.

(i had to free a less-inclined friend of mine in a similar way, such a pain)

Damn straight - when I first told my friends I bought a Windows Phone over an S4 or the One M7 their response was pretty much "oh, so it will lag" "I bet you'll get a BSOD" "NO APPS LEWL". LOTS of people at my high school here have 520s, and one of the guys I know went from an S3 to a 520 and told me how surprised he was that a) it had the apps he was after and b) that it was miles quicker than his old S3. Unfortunately the rest of the general perception is that WP is still in the dinosaur age and I blame the media for the perception that teenagers have

 

[hopmedic]

I don't think you guys understand properly. It isn't a choice. If you are under 18 you must set up my family. Have you ever thought that 17 year olds that go college may find this embarrasing? People in iOS and Android that are 13+ don't have to deal with this. All I am saying is that Microsoft should give a choice instead of forcing this on people. And shouldn't microsoft be restricting access for apps that are not for certain ages. Why aren't there age ratings and restrictions in the store itself anyway. In the other stores every app has an age rating and by age, of the user it blocks the user from downloading the app. This is laziness from microsoft. Why should teenagers be restricted by their parents to download temple run?

This is exactly as it should be. Parents SHOULD actually BE parents. They SHOULD monitor what their children do. When you have children, IF you are a responsible parent, you will agree. A 17 year old in college? Well, there are so few of those it really isn't an issue, in my book, but even if you want to make it an issue, a 17 year old still has not reached the age of majority, regardless of what grade he is in, and cannot be bound by a legal contract. When you purchase or download an app, you enter into a legal contract to abide by the terms and conditions of the App Store, which means to download an app, you must have reached the age of majority or have a parent agree to the terms. It's life.

Exactly. It shouldn't be on default for 13-17 year olds. There should be an option. That's why there are complaints.

Who are the complaints from? Children. Not a problem. Some parents need to let their children go without now and then. This is one of the problems with society today.

and thats where the age rating problem kicks in. The apps that do have ratings are games. But what about apps like you said? If they made it like iOS so depending on their date of birth, they wouldn't be able to download certain apps. Wouldn't that be OK. I understand you parents want to protect your children but Microsoft executed this very poorly. Someone was talking about a 17 year old spending on dlc. There is an app built into the phone called wallet to restricts IAPs with a pin. I think there was a way to access the app through the store settings too.

Some parents don't want their kids using games of certain types, regardless of age rating. Maybe there's a Koran app. Being a Christian parent, I don't want my child getting that app. Likewise a Bible app if I were a Muslim. It doesn't just apply to games.

Have you ever wondered why windows phones aren't that popular among teens?

Nope.

 

[Nerdy Woman]

Or at least pitch this idea. To have an approval text sent to the parent with what the "teen" is wanting to get. I mean there's gonna be less the likely stipulation to be able to have your kid have what they want and the parent as well. The very least to get a $25 visa card and attach it to the account so they have a cap if they're old enough for particular apps.

I would agree with you about the card feature, xrs22. Rather than have apps billed to my cell phone account with my carrier, I'd like to be able to attach a debit card account to the WP store for my daughter. She has a student PayPal account into which deposit spending money for her. With her PayPal debit card, she can buy games on Steam all day long -- until her money runs out...

I do get notifications when she makes purchases over $20. I set that amount - not because I feel the need to monitor her spending - but as a security measure.

 

[hopmedic]

I would prefer a notification of some sort: "Junior wants to purchase X for $1.99. Allow or Disallow?" In this day and age, there is no reason that a parent should have to be in the same place, touching the phone (I'm not sure if that's how it works or not - I'm assuming), in order to approve a purchase. A notification would be easy enough, and with the accounts tied to the phones, it should be seamless - no setup on the phone required, just the parent-child relationship set up on outlook.com (or wherever it is set up).