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LunarAce
Participant
March 7, 2023
Question

No Meta support for Parents to 1) Gift an In App Purchase & 2) Have your kid 'Ask to Buy' something.

There is currently no Meta support under Parental Supervision to 1) Gift an In App Purchase & 2) Have your kid 'Ask to Buy' something.  So if you gift an app and your kid wants an in app purchase, they can't get one.  If your kid want's to buy something, you have to gift it.  They cannot ask you electronically to buy it themselves with a concealed parental payment method.  I have brought this to Meta's attention and asked repeatedly to keep the evolution of their Parental Supervision going.  

    27 replies

    MetaStoreHelp
    MetaStoreHelp
    Community Manager
    March 7, 2023

    Hey there LunarAce! We completely understand how it feels to have issues navigating parental controls. Your kids can, in fact, ask to purchase a game. If they find a game they want to purchase they can follow these steps: 

    1. Locate the desired app in the Meta Quest Store. 
    2. Tap the price button to try and purchase or download the app. If the app’s content rating is above the teen's age, they will see a message that they can’t use that app right now. They will have the option of sending a request to the parent to allow access to the app. 
    3. After the request is sent, a confirmation will appear at the top of the screen confirming that the request has been sent. A notification will also show in VR.
    4. If the parent approves the app access request, the teen account will get a notification letting them know that the request was approved, and they can now purchase or download the app. 

    Regarding gifting in-app purchases. Your best bet would be to put a PIN number on your child's account and if they want to purchase in-game currency or other in-app purchases you can then enter the PIN code for them so that the purchase can be made. If you have any further questions please don't hesitate to reach back out. Thanks!

    If you're the author of a thread, remember to mark a reply as the Accepted Solution to help others find answers!
    LunarAceAuthor
    Participant
    March 7, 2023

    Regarding the response Item Part 4: "...They can now purchase the app." 

    With what money can my kid buy the app with?  Can the parent securely approve a purchase remotely with their credit card without involving the kid ?  This feature is still missing from MetaQuest.   

    Regarding the last paragraph:  "Put a pin number on your child's account..."

    This response is a bit vague.  How and where does this Pin number go?  Is it a remote transaction?  If not, why not?  This feature is still missing from MetaQuest. 

     

     

    MetaStoreHelp
    MetaStoreHelp
    Community Manager
    March 7, 2023

    Hey LunarAce! Thanks for reaching back out. In order for your child to be able to request to purchase a game from our store they will need to have a payment method on their account. This is where having a PIN number for purchases on your account comes in handy. Before any purchase is made a PIN will have to be entered manually on their headset or mobile app. If you have an idea on how to improve this service then we would recommend posting it over on our Ideas board. Engineers regularly check that board and add features that are recommended by our community. Thanks!

    If you're the author of a thread, remember to mark a reply as the Accepted Solution to help others find answers!
      Chundvar
      Honored Contributor
      March 7, 2023

      I really like this idea! You should definitely post it over on our Ideas board so that it gets the eyes it deserves on it. As support said our developers regularly check that area of our forums and have implemented countless features that were recommended by the community in the past!

      Feel free to reach out with simple questions! For any troubleshooting please make a post or reach out to our wonderful email, chat, and callback support team here: https://metaque.st/Support
        LunarAceAuthor
        Participant
        March 8, 2023

        Thanks for the support Chandvar. I posted it on the ideas board as you suggested.  Hopefully Meta can implement something soon.

          neuroanatomist2023
          New Participant
          January 23, 2024

          Well, it’s been nearly a year and the problem hasn’t been addressed. A very ‘shut up and take my money’ situation. I approved use of an app, there’s no way to buy it. My son’s device has no option to purchase it. When I try, my meta account warns me there’s no Quest set up (of course there isn’t, it’s his Quest 3). When I try to gift it to him, there’s no payment option the Meta app just returns me to the purchase page for me to buy it for the Quest I don’t have. 

          What a farce. This is why I usually stay in the Apple ecosystem. Parental controls, ask-to-buy, it all just works. 

            Kynriah
            Participant
            January 23, 2024

            I just ended up creating my kid an adult account because the Meta system is so backwards. The parental controls are a complete joke. My kids have parental controls set up everywhere else and they work fine. Apple is great with the easy ask-to-buy for apps and purchases! It can't be that difficult... Still so annoyed that meta gift cards can't be used for in-game purchases it makes no sense. But then Meta gave me "store credit" for buying the headset that could be used for in game purchases which was even more confusing. Still trying to explain to my kid why the gift cards he got for xmas were not usable for in app purchases 😞 

              MetaStoreHelp
              MetaStoreHelp
              Community Manager
              January 23, 2024

              Hey there, @neuroanatomist.2023! We understand how crucial it is for you to be able to purchase apps for your child's account. Just to shed some light on this matter for you, please try to follow these helpful tips:

              1. In the Meta Quest app, go to your notifications. Then, tap the notification about the app download request.
              2. Review the app information, then tap Review app.
              3. Tap either Allow or Block.
                • If you allow a paid app, then complete the purchase by tapping Purchase for your child.

              Your child will get a notification about your decision. If you allow the app, then they can install it on their Meta Quest headset.

              Parents can also gift apps that their children haven’t requested from the Meta Quest Store.


              However, we'd like to remain transparent in this matter, so as for the gift cards, they will have to be redeemed on the parent account in order for them to be used for any purchases for the child, as the child account does not require a payment method. If you still run into issues allowing apps to access your child's account, please let us know by sending us a PM. We're always happy to help when we can.

              If you're the author of a thread, remember to mark a reply as the Accepted Solution to help others find answers!
              Satterda
              New Participant
              March 26, 2024

              Just a warning out there for all the parents facing the gift card not being used for in-app purchases. If you read all the messages, you have to basically use the gift card on the parent login and let your child play on that account to use the gift-card. We did that and the next thing I know, we have $584 worth of in-app purchases because the credit card was tied to my account. The kicker is that META absolutely refuses to refund the money and take back the in-app purchases because it is "against our refund policy".

                LunarAceAuthor
                Participant
                April 6, 2024

                That is just wrong.  Keep after them if you can.  There has to be a logically reasoning human to work with there.  Best. 

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