A $520 million FTCFTCFederal Trade Commission — the US consumer protection authority. It imposed what was then the largest fine in children's data protection history against Epic Games/Fortnite in 2022. fine, documented grooming cases, aggressive V-BucksV-BucksFortnite's virtual currency. Bought with real money, but deliberately designed so children find it hard to gauge their real value. 1,000 V-Bucks ≈ £8. mechanics — and what you need to configure right now.
The PIN is the foundation for all further settings — without it, your child can lift every restriction themselves. Go to the Epic account portal under Parental Controls and create a 6-digit PIN. It will then be required for every settings change and every purchase.
epicgames.com/account/parental-controls → Set PINVoice chatVoice chatReal-time voice communication during gameplay. Unlike text chat it leaves no trace and is harder to monitor — which is why offenders prefer this channel. is the most common entry point for groomingGroomingDeliberate contact by adults with children to build trust for the purpose of sexual abuse. In games it often begins via voice chat and then shifts to Discord or Snapchat, where your controls no longer apply. in Fortnite. Offenders use it to build trust and then lure children onto Discord or Snapchat, where your parental controls don't reach.
Set voice chat to "Nobody". Set text chat to "Nobody" or at most "Friends only". Enable the option "PIN required to add friends".
Parental Controls → Communication → NobodyRemove all saved credit card details completely. Set purchases in Parental Controls to "PIN required". Instead: use pre-loaded V-Bucks cards as a monthly "gaming allowance" — this keeps you in control of spending.
For under-13s (Cabined Accounts): real-money purchases are disabled by default — do not change this setting.
Account Settings → Payment Methods → RemoveAfter the FTC fine, Epic introduced Cabined Accounts: for children under 13, voice chat, text chat, real-money purchases and personalised recommendations are disabled by default. Check that your child's account is set up correctly.
For under-18s, since September 2022: chat set to "Nobody", profile hidden, parties set to "Invite only". Do not loosen these settings.
Enable weekly playtime reports by email (available since October 2024).
epicgames.com/account → Parental Controls → Check Cabined AccountEpic's settings and your platform's parental controls are independent of each other. Both need to be configured.
PlayStation: Settings → Family → Parental Controls → Communication with other players
Xbox: account.microsoft.com/family → Privacy → Xbox privacy
Nintendo Switch: Nintendo Switch Parental Controls app → Restrict communication
iOS/Android: Screen Time / Digital Wellbeing → App limits for Fortnite