Xbox Family Settings App Adds Spending Management

Microsoft’s Xbox Family Settings app has been updated to support a way to manage how your children spend money on the Xbox service.

“When we launched the Xbox Family Settings app last year, our goal was to make it easy for parents and caregivers to manage their children’s gaming while on-the-go,” Microsoft general manager Kim Kunes writes. “One of the top pieces of feedback we’ve received from parents about the Xbox Family Settings app is to include options to track and manage kids’ spending. We’ve heard your feedback and today, we’re excited to announce multiple new features for the app which will help you manage your child’s spending.”

These new features are:

Spending limits. Parents can now manage their children’s spending by adding money to their account directly from the app. The funds you add to your child’s account can be applied to any purchase, including games, in-game purchases, and apps.

Ask to Buy. When enabled, this feature will deliver a notification each time your child wants to make a purchase for which they don’t have sufficient funds. You can opt to simply make the purchase on their behalf, add money to their account, or deny the purchase.

Account balance. You can view review your child’s account balance at any time and decide if you want to add additional funds. You can also view their spending history to see recent purchases.

The Xbox Family Settings app is available for Android and iPhone for free.