A guide for families with key information about ‘Among us’, including the age rating, key terminology, risks and instructions for enabling parental controls and safety settings.
Contents
How Among Us works
Among Us is a space-themed game where up to 15 players play together as ‘Crewmates’ or ‘Impostors’. The aim is for the Crewmates to identify the players who are the Impostors before the Impostors can sabotage their tasks and individually kill the Crewmates.
When a Crewmate is killed and the dead body is reported, the remaining Crewmates discuss who they think is the Impostor and vote them out. This game is all about communication and strategy.
Among Us is free to download on most devices, but Nintendo Switch users need to purchase the game. Among Us also has a virtual reality version of the game, Among Us VR, available on Meta Quest, Rift and Steam VR.
Minimum age requirements
Among Us is rated PEGI 7 due to the mild violence and online interaction elements.
If your child enters an age under 13 while creating their account, they will need to provide your email address. You will receive an email to confirm the account and set permissions. Under 13s automatically have safety restrictions set on their account, such as having no access to free chat.
There is no age verification when creating an account, so you shou
Features and terms
Beans
An in-game currency which can be obtained through normal gameplay.
Crewmate and Impostor
The different roles assigned to players within the game.
Emergency meetings
Where Crewmates come together to vote on who is the Impostor.
Free chat
Account holders over 13 can choose to chat using ‘Free chat’. This means they can draft their own comments and messages.
Friend code
These are unique, randomly generated codes which players can use to add each other in-game.
Ghosts
Crewmates who have been killed who can still play and help their living teammates by completing their tasks.
Hosting feature
‘Hosts’ can set up a game with their friends. They generate a code that is then shared with other players they know to give them access to the game.
Lobbies
The waiting rooms where players gather and interact before starting a match.
Public feature
The game can be played publicly by up to 15 people online. These people can be strangers.
Quick chat
The default chat option for account holders under 13. This mode only allows players to chat by choosing comments and questions from a pre-populated list, rather than writing their own.
Stars
The in-game currency which can only be bought with real money.
What Among Us offers
Teamwork
Players must work as a team to identify the Impostor, having to clearly communicate their views and collaborate on tasks.
Critical thinking
Users must try to work out who the Impostor is by analysing behaviour patterns of other players and noticing anything unusual.
Managing risks
Harmful contact with others
The most significant risk in Among Us is playing publicly with unknown users. Your child could stumble across inappropriate content in the form of bad language in the in-game chat function, which the chat filtering might not pick up on. Strangers might also attempt to contact your child and move the conversation over to another platform.
You can reduce the risk of contact with strangers by taking the following actions.
Adjust settings
If your child is aged 13+, you can add filters to the chat in the game settings, helping to limit them from seeing inappropriate language.
Avoid playing with strangers
Encourage your child to play the game in private game sessions with their known friends so that they are not interacting with strangers. Teach your child not to accept an access code or friend request shared by someone they do not know and trust in real life.
Use blocking and reporting tools
Encouraging your child to use the blocking and reporting features will help end contact with any harmful players and can make the game safer for everyone.
Overspending
Among Us has a shop where players can purchase cosmetic items to customise their character’s appearance. These cosmetics can be purchased using the in-game currency that can only be purchased with real money. Among Us will often advertise new items available for purchase immediately after the game is opened, which can make buying these items tempting.
These steps can help prevent your child from overspending.
Set spending restrictions
In your child’s device settings, set spending restrictions for apps so that your permission is required before they can make a purchase.
Discuss spending
Teach your child that money spent on in-game microtransactions is real money. You can help them understand the value by comparing the money they spend in the game to things they could buy offline for the same amount.
Settings to protect your child
If your child plays Among Us, these settings can help keep them safe.
Censor chat
On the main menu, select ‘Settings’.
Select ‘Censor Chat’ and toggle it to ‘On’.
Reporting and blocking tools
Report a user
Open the ‘Kick’ menu (boot icon) in the chat function.
Select the player to report.
Choose the ‘Report’ option.
Block a user
Open friends list by selecting ‘Friends’ on the top right corner of the main menu.
Choose either ‘Recently Played With’ or ‘Friends List’ to find the player you wish to block.
Select the crew member with the ‘restricted’ sign and choose ‘Confirm’.
Disable purchasing
Disable in-app purchases (on iOS)
With Screen Time enabled, go to ‘Settings’.
Open ‘Screen Time’ and select ‘Content & Privacy Restrictions’.
Turn on the toggle next to ‘Content & Privacy Restrictions’.
Select ‘iTunes & App Store Purchases’.
Select In-app Purchases and select ‘Don't Allow’.
Disable in-app purchases (on Android)
Go to ‘Google Play Store’ app.
Select the profile icon.
Select ‘Payments and subscriptions.
Select ‘Purchase verification’.
Select ‘Verification frequency’.
Set it to ‘Always’ and select ‘OK’.