Play Store purchases and approvals on Android

Google Play on a supervised child account is the surface where purchase decisions move real money.

This page documents the documented scope of Play purchase approvals, the family payment method, the in-app purchase flow, and the documented gaps.

The article is the second of the two Android-specific purchase articles. The first is on the iOS side.

Prerequisites

Before the steps below are useful, three things should be in place. None of them is a device setting.

• The parent has the parent-side Family Link drawer open. Google documents the parent-side drawer as the place where the purchase approval toggle is visible [source: google-family-link-purchase-approval]. Without drawer access, the parent cannot set the toggle.

• The child device runs Android 6 or later. Google documents the managed Play apps and the permissions surface — the parent-side handles these — as Android 6+; the per-app time-limit layer on top of it requires Android 7 or later [source: google-family-link-screen-time]. Devices below that floor fall outside the documented approval surface.

• A family payment method is set, or the parent is willing to leave the family method blank. Google documents the family payment method as the parent-side choice that the purchase approval gate can use [source: google-payment-en].

• The parent understands what the gate does not cover. The gate does not extend to gift card redemptions, non-Play stores, or web-based checkout [source: google-family-link-purchase-approval]. The parent who wants all three covered needs a separate layer.

If any of these is missing, the Steps section below tells you what to look up first.

Steps

The decisions on the parent-side Family Link drawer are a sequence. The parent who follows the sequence in order lands on the configuration the parent wanted, not on the platform’s default.

1. Open the parent-side Family Link drawer. Select the child. Open Controls on Google Play. The parent-side entry is the same on the Family Link app and on g.co/yourfamily on the web.

   The UI key for the entry is google.familylink.play-store.approvals.

2. Set the purchase approval toggle. Select the option that matches the parent-side decision: All content, All purchases that use the family payment method, Only in-app purchases, or No approval required.

   Google documents the four options [source: google-family-link-purchase-approval].

3. Set the family payment method, if needed. Open the parent-side drawer’s family payment method entry. Add a payment method or leave it blank.

   The UI key for the entry is google.play.family_payment_method.

4. Set the purchase verification frequency. Open the verification setting on the parent-side drawer. Choose Always, Every 30 minutes, or Only those without a separate verification process.

   The setting is the parent-side decision [source: google-verify-en].

5. Document the decision. Write down the four choices and the date the parent set them. The decisions may need to be re-set after a birthday transition or after a device replacement.

6. After the day, verify the configuration. Open the parent-side drawer. Confirm each toggle is in the state the parent wanted. The default may have moved.

What Play purchase approvals document

Google documents the purchase approval flow as a Gate on the Play Store billing system [source: google-family-link-purchase-approval].

The gate applies to:

• New app installs that cost money.
• In-app purchases charged through Google Play billing.
• Subscription renewals charged through Google Play billing.

The gate does not apply to:

• Web-based checkout on a third-party site.
• App store purchases on a non-Play store (Samsung Galaxy Store, Huawei AppGallery, Xiaomi GetApps).
• Carrier-billed purchases outside the Play billing flow.
• Gift card redemption outside the Play billing flow.

The scope is the Play billing system. The parent expects the gate to extend further than the gate actually does.

The UI key for the family-side purchase approval is google.familylink.play-store.approvals.

What the parent sees

The parent-side Family Link drawer exposes the Play purchase approval toggle under the Google Play controls [source: google-family-link-purchase-approval]. The options are:

• All content. Parent approval is required for every purchase on the Play Store.
• All purchases that use the family payment method. Parent approval is required only when the family payment method is used.
• Only in-app purchases. Parent approval is required only for in-app purchases.
• No approval required. The parent toggle is off.

The setting is the parent-side decision. The parent makes the choice on the parent device.

Where the in-app purchase happens

The Play billing system is the only flow Google documents as covered by the parent approval gate. The gate is documented in the parent-side drawer; the in-app purchase confirmation is the documented trigger for the approval request [source: google-family-link-purchase-approval].

A child who uses a third-party app store, a web checkout, or a gift card does not trigger the gate.

The family payment method

Google documents a family payment method that can be shared across the family group. The parent sets it on the parent-side Family Link drawer [source: google-payment-en].

The parent can require approval for purchases that use the family payment method. The setting is the parent-side toggle described above.

A child who holds a gift card balance in their own account is using their own balance, not the family payment method. The documented scope of the parent approval gate is the family payment method; the documented scope of the gift card is not the parent approval gate.

The UI key for the family payment method is google.play.family_payment_method.

Purchase verification

Google exposes a separate verification flow for the family group. The parent can require purchase verification with one of three options [source: google-verify-en]:

• Always. Every Play purchase requires a password or biometric confirmation.
• Every 30 minutes. Once a verification has been entered, the next 30 minutes of purchases do not require verification.
• Only those without a separate verification process. Purchases that have a separate verification (such as a biometric) do not require password verification [source: google-verify-en].

The setting is the parent-side toggle, not the child side. The UI key is google.play.purchase_verification.

The verification flow is for the family payment method and applies to the entire Google Play session, not to a specific app.

Refunds

Google documents a refund path for recognised purchases on the Play Store. The parent or the child opens the purchase in the Play Store, opens Report a problem, selects a reason, and submits [source: google-refund-en].

Google says the decision usually takes up to one day and may take up to four. The refund is given according to Google’s policy, not as a guarantee.

A refund for an unrecognised purchase follows a different path. The parent opens the Play Store, selects Report charges that you don't recognise, and follows the documented flow [source: google-unknown-en]. The flow has a 120-day filing window.

The UI keys for the two refund paths are google.play.refund_recognised_purchase and google.play.unauthorised_charge_report.

What the parent cannot do

The documented scope has limits.

• The parent cannot stop a gift card redemption. A gift card balance is the child’s money, not the family payment method. The parent approval gate does not cover it [source: google-family-link-purchase-approval].

• The parent cannot stop a non-Play purchase. The parent approval gate is the Play billing system. A web checkout or a third-party store is outside the documented scope.

• The parent cannot stop a refund. The refund is Google’s policy decision, not the parent’s. The parent can start the flow; the parent cannot guarantee the outcome.

• The parent cannot see the child’s purchase history on a third-party store. The Play Store history is the only documented history.

How the parent-side drawer is reached

The parent-side Family Link app is the place where the parent sets the purchase approval toggle. The parent opens the Family Link app, selects the child, opens Controls on Google Play, and selects Purchase & download approvals. The UI key is google.familylink.play-store.approvals.

The same setting is reachable from the web by opening g.co/yourfamily, selecting the child, and opening Controls on Google Play. The web and the app expose the same parent-side state.

Where the parent can re-read the labels

The Google support pages named here are the source for the labels on the parent side and the policy wording on the parent side. The list is the source for the documentation, not a recommendation.

• Purchase approvals — Google Families Help [source: google-family-link-purchase-approval].
• Family payment method — Google Families Help [source: google-payment-en].
• Purchase verification — Google Play Help [source: google-verify-en].
• Refunds — Google Play Help [source: google-refund-en].
• Unrecognised charges — Google Play Help [source: google-unknown-en].

The pages are the source for the rules. The parent device is the source for the experience.

What the parent should set

The parent has four toggle options on the parent-side drawer. The choice is the parent-side decision.

• All content. A parent who wants to approve every purchase, including free ones, sets this. The Play billing system asks for approval on every transaction.
• All purchases that use the family payment method. A parent who wants the family payment method to be the gate leaves this. Gift card balances are not part of the gate.
• Only in-app purchases. A parent who wants to approve only in-app purchases sets this. App installs charged through the family payment method do not trigger the gate.
• No approval required. A parent who wants to delegate the decision to the child sets this.

The default is the family’s previous state. The parent who treats the default as a value is choosing the previous state.

What the document does not cover

The documentation above is the Play billing system. It does not cover:

• Carrier-billed purchases outside the Play billing flow.
• Gift card redemption outside the Play balance.
• Web-based checkout on a third-party site.
• App store purchases on a non-Play store.
• Refund decisions when the developer is the issuer.

The configuration protects the conversation. The conversation protects the relationship. Both are needed.

Sources

• google-family-link-purchase-approval — Google Families Help, “Purchase approvals on Google Play”. The parent-side toggle and the Play-billing-only scope [source: google-family-link-purchase-approval].

• google-family-link-play-content — Google Families Help, “Set up content restrictions on Google Play”. The maturity-rating ceiling and the direct-link / search-result boundary [source: google-family-link-play-content].

• google-payment-en — Google Families Help, “Use a family payment method on Google Play”. The family payment method and the parent-side choice [source: google-payment-en].

• google-verify-en — Google Play Help, “Require purchase authentication”. The verification flow with the three documented options [source: google-verify-en].

• google-refund-en — Google Play Help, “Request a refund on Google Play”. The refund flow for recognised purchases [source: google-refund-en].

• google-unknown-en — Google Play Help, “Report charges that you don’t recognise”. The 120-day filing window for unrecognised charges [source: google-unknown-en].

• google-supervision-13 — Google Families Help, “How Google Accounts work when children turn 13”. The supervision-continuation rule [source: google-supervision-13].

• google-payment-de — Google Families Help, “Familienzahlungsmethode bei Google Play verwenden”. The German label for the family payment method [source: google-payment-de].

• google-approvals-de — Google Play Help, “Kaufgenehmigungen bei Google Play”. The German label for purchase approvals [source: google-approvals-de].

• google-verify-de — Google Play Help, “Bestätigung von Käufen für Google Play”. The German label for purchase verification [source: google-verify-de].

• google-refund-de — Google Play Help, “Erstattung bei Google Play beantragen”. The German label for refunds [source: google-refund-de].