Protect your Kindle Fire from unauthorised purchases

Hardly a week goes by without there being a story in the news where a child has racked up a bill of £1,000 on a tablet or smartphone that has been given to them. In-app-purchases are often the cause of the bill and it is possible under some circumstances to hand a device to child after downloading an app and the password is remembered, so when the child goes to the store and buys lots of upgrades for their game, they are all simply added to the bill and there is nothing to stop them buying whatever they want.

If you have a Kindle Fire HD and you set it up with the default settings, no passwords are required to download from the app store. It basically assumes that the tablet is being used by a responsible adult. To prevent children from accessing things they shouldn't, like expensive apps and other content in the store, you need to configure the parental controls.

Even if you don't have children, you might be the unlucky victim of a burglar or pick-pocket and have the Kindle Fire HD stolen. You don't want the thief to have full access to the device and be able to purchase anything they like.

Swipe down from the top edge of the screen and tap the More button in the top right corner. Press Parental Controls and select the On setting. You will need to think up and enter a password. This prevents anyone but you from getting into Parental Controls after you have changed them.

 

There are a number of settings and several apps and features can be blocked. Everyone's different, but my preference is to unblock or turn off everything except for Password-Protect Purchases. Turn this on and the device will always ask for a password before you can buy or download anything from Amazon. That includes apps and other items, even if they are free,. Which password? The one you entered when setting up Parental Controls.