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We've all been shivering in in-app purchases before, but Google wants to make sure they do not break the bank. To this end, it introduces a new budgeting feature in Google Play that allows users to track expenses and set a higher spending limit.
Budgets can be set from the Google Play app on Android phones or tablets, but not on the web. Start the Play Store by tapping the button menu iconand selecting Account and History of purchase should do the business. From there, search Set the budget and enter a dollar amount before you press saveand when you next purchase an app, a movie, a book, a song or any other item associated with your account, you will see a message telling you if you approach your budget (or if you have exceeded it).
Set a Play Store budget will not prevent you from buying items. Google says budgets can only be set in the currency of your current Google Play country profile. To find out if you are approaching at any time, simply return to the Purchase History screen. And to delete a budget you have previously defined, press the button Remove budget button from this same screen.
A Google spokesperson told VentureBeat that the feature is currently being tested and that it appears to be a staged rollout. On this author's Pixel 3 XL screen, the Play Store app has an Order History tab instead of the purchase history, and the Set Budget button is nowhere.
Budgeting builds on Google's existing purchase controls, which allow users to require authentication (such as a password or fingerprint) for all purchases made through a Google Account. Play on a device, or disable them completely. At the same time, Google Family Link allows family managers in a group to manually verify and approve (or decline) the Play Store spend of their members.
Apple had previously proposed a budgeting feature, iTunes Allocations, which allowed parents to set a monthly credit that children could spend on purchases on the App Store and iTunes. The company abandoned it in May 2016 for the benefit of Family Sharing, a program similar to Family Link that allows parents to control the buying and eating habits of family members.
Exceeding virtual spending on goods has caused a lot of excitement in recent years, especially in cases involving children. Five years ago, the US Federal Trade Commission asked Apple and Google to pay millions of dollars to parents whose children had made in-app in-app loads as a result a similar agreement with Amazon. According to a report by the Center of Investigative Reporting, some Facebook employees refer internally to users who spend thousands of dollars on games and apps as "whales" – a casino jargon for big players.
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