Have you ever accidentally bought something on Google Play? Maybe a kid uses your phone and buys a bunch of gems in-app, or your late-night app-browsing leads to an accidental tap on a $5 game purchase? It's unfortunate, but there's an easy way to add password protection to Google Play to prevent those accidental purchases from happening. Check out our guide, and we'll show you how.
Open the Google Play Store
This part's pretty simple. The first step is opening the Play Store on your device so we can get to the settings and make some changes. The easiest way to get there is to tap your profile in the top right corner of the Play Store, where your Google account picture is.
This should bring up a selection of things you can do to manage your Google Play experience, like changing your payment information, checking your Play Points rewards, signing up for Play Pass, and more. We aren't interested in those right now; you'll want to tap on Settings to get to the next step.
Turn on Purchase Authentication on Settings
There are quite a few settings available in Google Play. Like before, these will let you fine-tune your Google Play experience to adjust parental controls, change when apps can auto-update and whether or not they'll use mobile data, app archive options, and more. For this guide, we're interested in the Authentication section of this menu.
The Authentication menu has an option for changing when you need to purchase authentication. You have a few options here, from incredibly strict to no passwords required. Depending on your situation and who else might be using your phone, you'll want to pick the one that makes the most sense.
Requiring authentication for all purchases through Google Play on this device means you'll need to put in your password or use a biometric ID anytime you try to buy something on Google Play. This is the safest option and will prevent all unwanted purchases; unless someone knows your password or can duplicate your fingerprint, you're safe.
Requiring every 30 minutes skips that authentication if you make another purchase within 30 minutes of the previous purchase. This adds some security but still enables convenience if you're buying multiple items simultaneously. However, this can be risky if a child is playing games since additional purchases can be made in the window after you authorize an initial charge.
Never requiring authentication is exactly what it sounds like. Google Play will never prompt for a password on your device so that all purchases will go through instantly. This is the most high-risk option but the most convenient for someone who never lets others use their phone. If your phone is stolen and the lock screen PIN is figured out, you could have a problem.
It's up to you to decide which option makes the most sense, but fully requiring authentication for every purchase is the safest decision for maximum security.
