Purchases, gift cards and consoles

A credit-card statement shows a charge you did not authorise. A game balance is suddenly empty.

A console store completes a transaction without asking.

These are not edge cases.

They are the most common reason parents search for help after the first weekend with parental controls in place [source: apple-ask-en] [source: google-approvals-en] [source: playstation-ps-controls-en].

This article is about money on screens. It covers the three places it goes.

In-app purchases on a phone. Gift-card top-ups that bypass the purchase block.

Stores on a console that do not see the iPhone or Android rules at all.

The article was last checked on 2026-08-19. The Apple sections are verified against iOS 26.1 [source: apple-ask-en].

The Android, Switch, PlayStation, Xbox and Steam sections use the manufacturer’s first-party pages.

Exact firmware and OS versions on those platforms are not captured here [source: nintendo-setup-en] [source: playstation-ps-time-en] [source: microsoft-ms-time-en] [source: help-steam-families-en].

The menu paths are kept in the wiki’s UI-string resource and are referenced, not retyped, in the steps below.

See Wiki/en/reading-screen-time-report for the rationale.

Why this matters

There is a single property of gift cards that is worth stating clearly at the top:

Gift cards bypass the purchase block completely.

They do not trigger a parental approval request, because the purchase is not a charge to a card.

It is a redemption of a prepaid code [source: apple-ask-en].

The design of Ask to Buy on Apple, of Purchase approvals on Google Play, and of similar controls elsewhere, is that they sit between the child and the family payment method.

The gift card is not a family payment method. It is a balance the child has, or a code they redeem.

The approval path does not see it [source: apple-ask-en] [source: google-approvals-en].

That is the property the system has, not a trick the child invented.

The second property worth stating clearly:

A console is not an iPhone and not an Android phone.

The PlayStation, the Nintendo Switch, the Xbox and Steam each have their own account system, their own store, and their own family controls.

The settings on an iPhone do not reach any of them.

They are not extensions of Family Sharing or Family Link.

They are separate systems that do not communicate [source: playstation-ps-controls-en] [source: nintendo-overview-en] [source: microsoft-ms-time-en] [source: help-steam-families-en].

Both properties are mechanical, not behavioural. They are true whether or not the child is “trying” to make a purchase.

The rest of this article tells you where the money actually goes, what each platform can and cannot do about it, and how to keep a purchase that has already happened from turning into a fight.

Where the money actually goes

Three flows account for almost every unexpected charge on a child’s device. Each one has a different mechanical cause.

In-app purchases on the family payment method. A game offers a chest, a coin pack, a subscription. The child taps “buy”.

The purchase charges the card on file in the family account.

On Apple, an in-app purchase goes through Apple’s in-app purchase system, and the family approval setting is what stops it before the charge.

Apple documents that this is the path Ask to Buy covers [source: apple-ask-en].

On Google Play, an in-app purchase goes through Google’s billing, and the family approval setting is what stops it before the charge.

Google documents that this is the path Purchase approvals covers [source: google-approvals-en].

Gift cards and prepaid balances. A gift card is a code that adds to an account balance or redeems for content directly.

The redemption is the transaction.

Apple documents the no-request cases for Ask to Buy: a child’s own redownload, an update, and a redemption code do not produce an approval request [source: apple-ask-en].

Google documents a similar separation for Play: the approval setting applies to Play billing, not to a gift-card redemption as such [source: google-approvals-en].

This is where the bypass lives. The setting that stops the family-payment-method charge does not see the code.

Console store purchases. A Nintendo eShop purchase, a PlayStation Store purchase, an Xbox Store purchase, or a Steam purchase goes through that console’s own store and billing.

Apple’s Ask to Buy and Google’s Purchase approvals are scoped to their own stores and do not reach the console stores [source: apple-ask-en] [source: google-approvals-en].

PlayStation documents the monthly spending limit and the rule that payment for a child account’s Store purchase is taken from the family manager wallet; child accounts cannot add payment methods or wallet funds [source: playstation-ps-controls-en].

The next section sets up the controls that match each flow.

Prerequisites

Before you start, line up the accounts and devices the child uses in a normal week.

The setup only covers what the family configuration reaches.

A device or account you do not have access to will be invisible to the controls below.

You need, at minimum:

• The parent device that holds the family-organiser account for the platform you are configuring. On Apple, that is the Apple Account that set up Family Sharing. On Google Play, that is the family manager account. On Microsoft, that is the organiser account. On PlayStation, that is the family manager account. On Nintendo, that is the account that owns the parental-controls app pairing [source: apple-ask-en] [source: google-approvals-en] [source: microsoft-ms-limits-en] [source: playstation-ps-controls-en] [source: nintendo-setup-en].
• A list of the platforms the child uses. Phones and tablets are obvious. The consoles in the house, the family PC or laptop with Steam, and the web browser are not. They each need their own setup. The article walks through six platforms; skip the ones you do not use.
• A clear sense of the family payment methods on file. A child account with its own payment method can complete a purchase that does not touch the family method [source: apple-ask-en].
• Time and a quiet moment, not a confrontation. A purchase configuration is best set up before the next surprise, not in response to one.

Steps — set up purchase blocks per platform

The order is: Apple and Google first, because they cover the most common path (in-app purchases on the phone or tablet).

Consoles after, because each console is a separate setup.

Work through the platforms your child actually uses. Skip the ones they do not.

The seven steps below match the seven subsections.

1. Apple — Ask to Buy on, in-app purchases off.
2. Google Play — Purchase approvals on, payment method locked.
3. Nintendo Switch / Switch 2 — eShop restriction + parental-controls app.
4. PlayStation — Monthly spending limit at zero.
5. Xbox / Microsoft Family Safety — Spending controls and approval.
6. Steam — Steam Families with child role.
7. Lock the configuration — On every platform that supports it.

1. Apple: Ask to Buy on, in-app purchases off

Ask to Buy is the path on iOS, iPadOS and the App Store that sends an approval request for an eligible purchase.

The mechanism is described in the Apple support page for Ask to Buy [source: apple-ask-en].

The relevant UI keys are apple.family.ask_to_buy_approval and apple.screentime.iap_block.

• Turn on Ask to Buy for each child in Family Sharing. Apple documents the eligible transactions (App Store downloads, in-app purchases, shared-app redownloads) and the no-request cases (own redownload, update, redemption code) [source: apple-ask-en].
• In Screen Time, turn on Content & Privacy Restrictions, then the iTunes & App Store Purchases row. Set In-App Purchases to Don’t Allow. This is a device-level block and the second line of defence [source: apple-iap-en].
• Set the family payment method to one whose charges you review. A child who has a different payment method on file can complete a purchase that does not touch the family method [source: apple-ask-en].

What this setup does not do:

• It does not block a gift-card redemption. Apple documents that redemption-code use does not produce an approval request [source: apple-ask-en].
• It does not block purchases outside the App Store / Apple in-app purchase path. Apple documents that for purchases outside this path, Ask to Buy, purchase sharing and the in-app purchase restriction do not apply [source: apple-iap-en].
• It does not reach a console. The settings live on the Apple Account and the device, not on the network or on another platform [source: apple-ask-en].

2. Google Play: Purchase approvals on, payment method locked

The equivalent on Android is Purchase approvals in the Google Play family flow. The UI key is google.play.purchase_approvals.

The settings family manager or Family Link parent sees is documented on Google’s Purchase approvals page.

The choices cover all content, all purchases using the family payment method, only in-app purchases, or no approval required [source: google-approvals-en].

• Set Purchase approvals to “All purchases that use the family payment method”, or stricter. This is the path Google’s page documents [source: google-approvals-en].
• Set the family payment method on Google Play to a card you review. Google’s documentation describes how the family payment method is used [source: google-payment-en].
• Turn on Purchase verification for the child’s account. Google documents that the default for apps and games designed for ages 12 and under is to require verification, and lists the available frequency options [source: google-verify-en].

What this setup does not do:

• It does not block a Google Play gift card redemption. Where no family payment method exists, a child can request approval and the manager can complete it with a manager payment method, including Google Play gift cards [source: google-approvals-en].

The interaction between an existing approval rule and a child’s own Play balance is not established by the reviewed Google pages [source: google-balance-en].

• It does not reach Steam, the Nintendo eShop or the PlayStation Store. The setting applies only to Google Play billing [source: google-approvals-en].

3. Nintendo Switch / Switch 2: eShop restriction + parental-controls app

Nintendo’s setup has two parts: the parental-controls companion app on the parent’s phone, and the eShop restrictions on the Nintendo Account family group.

The console-side control applies to all users of that console.

eShop and Switch 2 GameChat controls are player-specific [source: nintendo-overview-en].

The UI key is app.nintendo-switch.parental_controls_root.

• Install the Nintendo Switch Parental Controls app on your phone (iOS 15+ or Android 8+, per Nintendo’s published requirement) and pair it with the console. Nintendo documents the setup flow and the registration code procedure [source: nintendo-setup-en].
• In the app, set the Play Time Limit, Bedtime and Suspend Software at Set Time. These are console-wide by default; per-user reporting is also available. The setup page describes the suspend-or-notify behaviour when the limit is reached [source: nintendo-setup-en].
• Restrict eShop purchases in the Nintendo Account family group. Nintendo documents that eShop restrictions are separate from the console-side parental controls [source: nintendo-overview-en].

What this setup does not do:

• It does not automatically cover a Switch 2 GameChat session. Nintendo documents that users under 16 or supervised accounts need the GameChat-specific controls configured in the parental-controls app before GameChat is used [source: nintendo-gamechat-de].
• It does not cover a purchase on a non-Nintendo store. The eShop restriction is on the eShop [source: nintendo-overview-en].
• It does not automatically convert a child account to an adult account at adulthood. Nintendo documents child accounts for ages 0 to 17 and supervised accounts for ages 15 and younger; a first-party conversion sequence is not documented in the reviewed pages [source: nintendo-account-en].

4. PlayStation: monthly spending limit at zero

Sony documents a monthly spending limit on PlayStation that defaults to 0.

The rule is that payment for a child account’s Store purchase is drawn from the family manager wallet.

A child account cannot add payment methods or wallet funds [source: playstation-ps-controls-en].

The UI keys are app.playstation.family_parental_controls_root and app.playstation.monthly_spending_limit.

• Create a child account under Family Management on the PlayStation. PlayStation documents the family setup flow on the family-account support page [source: playstation-ps-family-en].
• Set the Monthly Spending Limit. PlayStation documents the default of 0 and the family-manager-wallet payment rule [source: playstation-ps-controls-en].
• Set Restrict Playtime with Duration and Playable Hours. PlayStation documents that the controls cover both PS5 and PS4 when both are used [source: playstation-ps-time-en].

What this setup does not do:

• It does not guarantee a monthly-limit reset date that matches the calendar month. The reviewed PlayStation pages document a “monthly” spending limit but do not establish the exact reset semantics. Treat the limit as the family manager’s monthly budget, not as a precise per-calendar reset [source: playstation-ps-controls-en].
• It does not cover the numeric age at which a child account becomes eligible for the optional adult upgrade. PlayStation documents that the upgrade is irreversible once it happens, but the reviewed page does not state the numerical age [source: playstation-ps-family-en].

5. Xbox / Microsoft Family Safety: spending controls and approval

Microsoft’s family system spans Windows, Xbox and (for screen time) Android, with the family organiser as the controlling role.

Microsoft documents that screen-time limits cover signed-in Xbox time across connected devices [source: microsoft-ms-time-en].

The UI keys are app.xbox-family-safety.spending and app.xbox-family-safety.cross_device_screen_time.

• Open Microsoft Family Safety on the web or in the app. Turn on “Require approval for every purchase”. Microsoft documents this as a separate setting from the age-based approval [source: microsoft-ms-limits-en].
• Add a payment method to the organiser account if money may be added to a child Microsoft account. Microsoft documents that approval is always required when a child exceeds an age limit or has no account money [source: microsoft-ms-limits-en].

The “Require approval for every purchase” toggle can be enabled on top of that [source: microsoft-ms-limits-en].

• Set screen-time limits and app/game limits across connected Windows, Xbox and Android devices. Microsoft documents that these limits are tailored by day and apply to the listed device types [source: microsoft-ms-time-en] [source: microsoft-ms-apps-en].

What this setup does not do:

• It does not cover purchases outside Microsoft’s billing. The reviewed Microsoft pages document Microsoft Store and Xbox Store behaviour; non-Microsoft stores (Steam, Nintendo eShop, PlayStation Store) are out of scope [source: microsoft-ms-limits-en].
• It does not establish the exact Xbox content-age selector values from the current Xbox support page in this environment. The reviewed page was not readable when retrieved. Treat the exact selector values as unverified; rely on the Microsoft Family Safety settings instead [source: support-xbox-age-en].
• It does not change Microsoft-side adult status by region. Microsoft documents an adult as at least 18, except 19 in Canada, with statutory age varying by country or region [source: microsoft-ms-age-en].

6. Steam: Steam Families with child role

Steam Families groups up to six household members, with adult and child roles. Adults apply the restrictions.

Steam documents the controls: game access, Store / Community / Friends Chat restriction, playtime limits, playtime reports, extra-playtime and feature requests, purchase requests, and account recovery [source: help-steam-families-en].

The UI key is app.steam.families_root.

• In the Steam client, open Account Settings, then Family Management, then Manage, then Enable Parental controls for the child account [source: help-steam-families-en].
• Use the request flow for purchase approvals. Steam documents purchase requests as the path a child uses when an adult’s approval is required [source: help-steam-families-en].

What this setup does not do:

• It does not let a child leave the family on their own. Steam documents that removal requires an adult or Steam Support [source: help-steam-families-en].
• It does not guarantee a calendar schedule UI with hourly and daily playtime limits, as the earlier platform announcement described.

The current Steam Families FAQ documents playtime limits and that adults control “how long and when”, but does not enumerate a schedule UI.

Treat the exact schedule semantics as unverified [source: help-steam-families-en].

• It does not state a numeric age at which a child role becomes adult. Steam documents that Steam is not intended for children under 13, but the reviewed FAQ does not state an automatic child-to-adult transition [source: store-steam-agreement-en].

7. Lock the configuration

On Apple, the family organiser locks Screen Time after configuration so that the rules cannot be edited from the child’s device.

The lock is described in Apple’s Screen Time documentation [source: apple-screen-time].

On Google Play, the equivalent is the family-payment-method lock and the verification setting on the child’s account.

Google documents that Purchase verification is set on the device or account [source: google-verify-en].

On PlayStation, the family manager controls sit behind the family-management account.

PlayStation documents that the controls apply across devices once the child has completed email verification and is signed in [source: playstation-ps-controls-en].

On Microsoft Family Safety, the organiser role is what changes the spending settings.

Microsoft documents the organiser-side workflow [source: microsoft-ms-limits-en].

Without this step, the previous six are a configuration that the child can edit.

Why gift cards bypass all of it

The previous section ended each platform with what the setup does not cover.

The gift-card bypass is the most common of those “does not cover” cases.

A gift card is a code, not a charge.

The family purchase approval sits between the child and a charge to the family payment method.

A gift card is not a charge to the family payment method.

It is a balance that has already been paid for, or a code that converts to content directly.

The effect is mechanical:

• On Apple, Ask to Buy’s documented no-request cases include redemption-code use [source: apple-ask-en].
• On Google Play, the documented approval setting applies to Google Play billing. A gift-card redemption interacts with the approval rule, but the interaction is not established by the reviewed Google pages [source: google-approvals-en] [source: google-balance-en].
• On Nintendo, PlayStation, Xbox and Steam, each store has its own wallet or balance, and gift cards for those stores are scoped to that store. The platform’s own controls apply, not the Apple or Google ones.

This is the single most common reason for an unexpected charge after the controls are in place.

It is not the child being clever. It is a property of how the system routes the transaction.

What you can do about it:

• Treat the gift card as a separate conversation, separate from the purchase controls. The configuration alone will not catch it.
• If your child receives a gift card from someone outside the household, the spend it makes possible is real money. The conversation about what to do with it happens before the card is redeemed.
• Where the platform allows it, lock the redemption path behind the parental approval flow. Apple’s screen is the no-request exclusion; the family-payment-method lock on Google Play and the wallet-lock behaviour on each console are the analogues.

Consoles are a separate system

The shortest accurate sentence: a setting on the iPhone does not reach the PlayStation.

A setting on the Android phone does not reach the Nintendo Switch.

A setting on the family organiser’s Xbox does not reach the Steam client on the PC.

The reason is the account system, not the screen-time system.

Each family configuration is scoped to its own account [source: apple-ask-en] [source: google-approvals-en] [source: playstation-ps-family-en] [source: nintendo-account-en] [source: microsoft-ms-time-en] [source: help-steam-families-en].

Apple’s lives on the Apple Account. Google’s lives on the Google account. Sony’s lives on the PlayStation Network account.

Nintendo’s lives on the Nintendo Account. Microsoft’s lives on the Microsoft account. Steam’s lives on the Steam account.

They do not share a session. They do not share a payment method (with rare platform exceptions).

They do not share a spending limit.

A child who plays a Nintendo Switch in the living room and a game on the iPhone has two independent family configurations to set up.

Skipping the Switch setup is the most common cause of “I set up the controls and the Switch is still spending”.

What to do about it:

• Inventory the consoles in the house. The Switch, the PlayStation, the Xbox, and the family PC or laptop with Steam are all separate setups.
• Configure the spending limits at the console level, not at the phone level. For each console, the equivalent of the phone’s purchase approval is a per-console setting.
• Read the platform’s age semantics for what happens when the child crosses an age threshold. PlayStation documents an optional, irreversible adult-account upgrade. Nintendo documents supervised status for child accounts of 15 and younger [source: nintendo-account-en] [source: playstation-ps-family-en].

The numerical age at which either applies is not always established in the reviewed pages.

If a purchase already happened

The steps above assume the purchase has not yet been made.

If a charge is on the statement already, the next steps depend on the platform and on who made the charge.

Apple

Apple documents the refund request route through reportaproblem.apple.com.

A family organiser can select “All” to view purchases on the shared payment method for a Family Sharing member.

Apple says some purchases might be eligible. Apple provides a 24 to 48 hour update window after submission [source: apple-refund-en].

The Apple UI key is apple.family.refund_request.

The refund is not guaranteed. Apple’s documentation frames the request as discretionary, not as a reversal.

Google Play

Google documents the refund request flow for a recognised accidental purchase by a known family member or friend.

Google says a decision is usually within one day, but can take up to four days.

Developer contact may be the quickest route [source: google-refund-en].

The Google UI key is google.play.refund_recognised_purchase.

For a charge by nobody known to the account holder, the route is the unauthorised-charge report rather than the standard refund request.

Google documents the policy that directs these two cases to different paths [source: google-policy-en].

The UI key for the recognised-purchase refund is captured here.

The unauthorised-charge report itself is a separate Google support page that the reviewed EN/DE source set does not establish in detail.

PlayStation, Nintendo, Xbox, Steam

Each platform documents its own refund and unauthorised-charge route.

The reviewed source set captures the limits and approval mechanisms but does not enumerate the full refund-request workflow for each console.

The platform’s own support site is the next step.

What this section does not do:

• It does not promise a refund. Each platform’s documentation describes a request, not a reversal [source: apple-refund-en] [source: google-refund-en] [source: google-policy-en].
• It does not cover the second-order question of whether the child broke a household rule. That belongs in the next section, not in a refund request.

Talking about it

This section is the longest in the article for a reason.

A charge that was not authorised lands in a household in a specific way. The visible fact is on a statement.

The invisible fact is in the family.

The configuration walk above is necessary. It is not sufficient. The conversation is where the outcome is decided.

Frame the charge as a system fact, not an accusation

A gift-card bypass is a property of the purchase controls, not a behaviour of the child.

This sentence is worth saying out loud, even when it is hard to say without sounding defensive.

If the charge is the child’s first encounter with “the controls were on and the spend still happened”, the surprise is legitimate.

The configuration did not catch it. The configuration was the design [source: apple-ask-en] [source: google-approvals-en].

The question that follows is the second-order one: what does the family want this kind of spend to look like in the future?

That question belongs to the family conversation, not to the configuration screen.

Separate the configuration gap from the rule fit

A purchase that was not authorised is one of two things:

• The configuration was on and the design did not catch it. This covers gift cards, in-app purchases on a non-family payment method, and console stores.

The fix is a configuration update: lock the redemption path, set a tighter payment method, configure the console store [source: apple-ask-en] [source: google-approvals-en] [source: playstation-ps-controls-en].

• The configuration was on and the design caught it but the child completed it anyway through a path the parent did not realise was open. The fix is at the rule level, not at the setting level.

Both are real cases. The first is much more common than parents expect.

The second is rarer, and is the case where a conversation about the rule is needed.

Avoid turning the statement into a verdict

A credit-card statement is not a transcript of intent. A balance that is empty is not evidence of deceit.

Independent testing has documented that even carefully set parental controls have configuration gaps, particularly on console stores and on gift-card redemption paths.

The gap is on the configuration side, not on the child side.

If the family treats the charge as proof that “the child did something wrong”, the configuration walk will be skipped.

The next charge will land.

If the family treats the charge as a configuration event, the walk happens, the rule is reviewed, and the next charge is either caught or not made.

Ask the second-order question together

Two questions worth asking, in this order:

• “Was this a surprise to you too?”

A child who did not expect the charge to land is, in most cases, telling the truth.

The surprise can run in both directions. The configuration gap is the configuration gap.

The honesty of the answer is separate from the size of the charge.

• “What should this kind of spend look like in this family?”

This is the rule-fit question.

A gift card received from a grandparent is, for many families, a different spend than a subscription auto-renewed in a game.

The configuration may not distinguish them. The family conversation can.

When the child is a teenager

A teenager whose account auto-upgraded to an adult account has crossed a threshold whose mechanics differ by platform.

PlayStation documents an irreversible upgrade [source: playstation-ps-family-en].

Nintendo documents supervised status for child accounts of 15 and younger.

The reviewed pages do not establish an automatic transition at adulthood [source: nintendo-account-en].

Microsoft documents an adult as at least 18 (19 in Canada), varying by country [source: microsoft-ms-age-en].

For a teenager, the conversation is the rule. The configuration is the rail.

The editorial stance this wiki takes (ADR-0005) is that proportionate, openly communicated safeguards work better than hidden surveillance for this age band.

A teenager who knows the rule and the reason for the rule is, in the evidence base, more likely to use the rule than a teenager who finds out about the rule from a charge on a statement.

When the caregivers disagree

A configuration decision that the family disagrees about is not a configuration failure. It is a coordination gap.

Two caregivers giving different answers to the same purchase request is not a setting failure.

The technical rule will reflect whichever decision was last synced.

The technical fix is a family conversation, not a tighter spending limit.

Sources

Each marker resolves to a stub under Wiki/sources/ with the URL, the language, and the retrieval date.

• [source: apple-ask-en] — Apple Support, “Approve what kids buy and download with Ask to Buy” (link-only, EN, retrieved 2026-07-01).
• [source: apple-iap-en] — Apple Support, “Use Screen Time to turn off in-app purchases on your iPhone or iPad” (link-only, EN, retrieved 2025-12-04).
• [source: apple-refund-en] — Apple Support, “Request a refund for apps or content that you bought from Apple” (link-only, EN, retrieved 2026-05-15).
• [source: google-approvals-en] — Google Play Help, “Purchase approvals on Google Play” (link-only, EN, retrieved 2026-08-16).
• [source: google-verify-en] — Google Play Help, “Purchase verification for Google Play” (link-only, EN, retrieved 2026-08-16).
• [source: google-payment-en] — Google for Families Help, “Use a family payment method on Google Play” (link-only, EN, retrieved 2026-08-16).
• [source: google-balance-en] — Google Play Help, “Transfer Play Balance from your child’s account” (link-only, EN, retrieved 2026-08-16).
• [source: google-refund-en] — Google Play Help, “Request a refund on Google Play” (link-only, EN, retrieved 2026-08-16).
• [source: google-policy-en] — Google Play Help, “Learn about Google Play refund policies” (link-only, EN, retrieved 2026-08-16).
• [source: nintendo-overview-en] — Nintendo Support, “Parental Controls for Nintendo Switch 2 and Nintendo Switch Overview/FAQ” (link-only, en-GB, retrieved 2026-08-16).
• [source: nintendo-setup-en] — Nintendo Support, “How to Set Up, Adjust, or Remove Parental Controls on Nintendo Switch” (link-only, en-GB, retrieved 2026-08-16).
• [source: nintendo-account-en] — Nintendo Support, “What Is the Difference Between a General Nintendo Account and a Nintendo Account for a Child?” (link-only, en-GB, retrieved 2026-08-16).
• [source: nintendo-gamechat-de] — Nintendo Support, “Anleitung für Erziehungsberechtigte: So gestalten Sie mit Altersbeschränkungen das GameChat-Erlebnis Ihres Kindes” (link-only, de-DE, retrieved 2026-08-16). The English counterpart was listed but its source stub has not yet landed in the local registry; the underlying URL is preserved in the research file.
• [source: playstation-ps-controls-en] — PlayStation Support, “How to set parental controls on PlayStation consoles” (link-only, en-US, retrieved 2026-08-16).
• [source: playstation-ps-time-en] — PlayStation Support, “How to set playtime on PlayStation” (link-only, en-US, retrieved 2026-08-16).
• [source: playstation-ps-family-en] — PlayStation Support, “How to set up your family on PlayStation” (link-only, en-US, retrieved 2026-08-16).
• [source: microsoft-ms-time-en] — Microsoft Support, “Set screen time limits across devices” (link-only, en-US, retrieved 2026-08-16).
• [source: microsoft-ms-apps-en] — Microsoft Support, “Block or unblock apps with Microsoft Family Safety” (link-only, en-US, retrieved 2026-08-16).
• [source: microsoft-ms-limits-en] — Microsoft Support, “Spending limits in Family Safety” (link-only, en-US, retrieved 2026-08-16).
• [source: microsoft-ms-age-en] — Microsoft Support, “How to change a birth date on a Microsoft account” (link-only, en-US, retrieved 2026-08-16).
• [source: microsoft-ms-troubleshoot-en] — Microsoft Support, “Troubleshooting Microsoft Family Safety” (link-only, en-US, retrieved 2026-08-16).
• [source: support-xbox-age-en] — Xbox Support, “Set an age limit for content on Xbox” (link-only, en-US, retrieved 2026-08-16). The page body was not readable in the retrieval environment; the slug is retained because the URL is the official Xbox support entry, but no values are inferred from it.
• [source: help-steam-families-en] — Steam Support, “Steam Families User Guide & FAQ” (link-only, EN, retrieved 2026-08-16).
• [source: store-steam-agreement-en] — Valve / Steam legal, “Steam Subscriber Agreement” (link-only, EN, retrieved 2026-08-16).