How can I make it impossible for my kids to purchase apps when they play with my Android devices?

[Drillbit]

The best way is to create another GMail account, then don't attach your credit card to it. On the Play market, switch Play over to this new account when kids are playing with it. This can also disable in app purchases.

[raspabalsa]

Interesting... I do have another gmail account linked to my devices, but I never thought about using it as a safety block. I'll keep the PIN set, and will test setting the second account on Play Store. I guess this will prevent update notifications from arriving, since I presume the apps I purchased are tied only to the primary gmail account. Another thought: Could this cause licensing problems? Since the programs I've purchased are tied to my primary gmail account, if I set GPlay to the second account, won't apps switch to unlicensed and/or expired trials?

[Drillbit]

There is no unlicensed or expired trials with Android apps. Its either free with ads, or paid without ads. Some apps have what is called a licensed plug which you can buy and which transforms the free app with ads to the paid without ads. But as long as this app exists on the device, the main app that uses it will always be on a paid mode.

[raspabalsa]

I followed your advise, set a different account, with no credit card. All my apps still work, are still shown on Google Play, still update, and I can't make any purchase from my device. I'll keep this as yet another layer of security. Thanks!

Sent from my Galaxy Player 5 using Tapatalk 2

[Hook]

I followed your advise, set a different account, with no credit card. All my apps still work, are still shown on Google Play, still update, and I can't make any purchase from my device. I'll keep this as yet another layer of security. Thanks!

Sent from my Galaxy Player 5 using Tapatalk 2

Wow, that's weird. Thanks for letting us know. I would have thought the apps would no longer work. So they even update. I assume that if you deleted a paid app it would make you pay for it to download again? Somehow, the paid apps are supposed to be tied to a google account.

[raspabalsa]

Let me clarify a bit: I added a diferent gmail account, then selected this account on Google Play on my device. I did not delete my primary account. Also, the primary account is still set to sync on Settings -> Accounts. Perhaps this is why they still work, update, etc.

I'm guessing that if I actually deleted the primary account (the one I've used for my purchases) it would be a different story. But the apps should still show as purchased on the Play Store if I open it on a desktop PC, because my account would still be active... deleting the account on the device only un-linked the device and account, but didn't affect the account itself or its purchase history.

Sent from my Galaxy Player 5 using Tapatalk 2

[raspabalsa]

Another interesting fact: the PIN setting is applied on a per-account basis. If I select a PIN for my primary account, then set the store to ask for the PIN when purchasing, this is applied only to this account. If you switch to the other account and check the Store's settings, you'll see no PIN set, so no safety feature. If you want to use a PIN to restrict purchases, you have to set a PIN and safety for each and every account you add to your device.

Sent from my Galaxy Player 5 using Tapatalk 2