Comments on: Apple Faces Scrutiny Over In-App Purchases By Kids

By: Apple Now Requires Password Entry for Every In-App Purchase: Tech News and Analysis «

Thu, 10 Mar 2011 20:28:25 +0000

[...] we’ve reported before, Apple has been under pressure to address the rising instances of children buying virtual goods in [...]

By: Brown

Brown — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 10:04:31 +0000

Actually till the app maker does anything it is parents duty to keep a close watch on kids’ activities. This will save their money. no question of bringing the credit card company here.

By: Apple needs to do more for parents — Scobleizer

Apple needs to do more for parents — Scobleizer — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 20:34:08 +0000

[...] GigaOM and other press have already covered this with regards to purchases (parents are seeing big bills from kids who bought stuff in app, or even from app store since that remains active 15 minutes after a parent puts a password in), but Apple really needs to do more. Why? My kids, who are one and three years old are already very adept at getting around. [...]

By: Stephen

Stephen — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 17:31:20 +0000

Rather than blame the parents for giving their kids control over their credit card, look at it from this perspective.
Your kid annoys you for the cool app to play that his buddy has on his Mom’s iPhone while in a waiting room so you sign in and download the game. The kid starts playing, and is prompted in the tutorial about these berries that let him do more and have more fun. Now, this is just 10 minutes after buying a ‘free’ app and unless you know exactly what’s coming you haven’t found that secret menu yet, so your kid can buy berries for the next five minutes.

The parent didn’t give the kid any information, neither credit card or password related. Even knowing all this it took me about 10 minutes to find the menu and disable the feature, but now if I want to make an in app payment I need to go all the way back and flip the switch again.

Not all parents buy their 10 year olds iPhones, many just let them use it while they’re out doing errands or diving. It’s a feature that the kids simply can’t comprehend, and parents are just now becoming aware of. To defend the companies that make most of their money off of this is stupid, just like defending a marker making company that charges $0.50 for every color outside of the starting 10 colors yet promising every possible color for your coloring book. But it isn’t their fault.

Everyone is at fault in this vase with the blame on nobody, the developer for making it possible, Apple for not doing anything to warn or help parents prevent it, Parents for not knowing about the apps they give their kid, and then Kids for not understanding what’s going on. Give it a few months and this won’t ever happen again.

By: Big Red

Big Red — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 14:01:12 +0000

Don’t you mean “Two bad you cant F*ck!n spell you F’n idi*t?”

By: Mark

Mark — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 05:58:55 +0000

Actually, I would go so far as to say that it IS entirely the parents’ fault. They’re the ones that need to monitor their kids. Apple, or any similar company, can’t play the role of parent and take responsibility for the actions of these kids, regardless of who the apps are aimed at.

Besides, Apple doesn’t directly create the apps, does it? I’m not an app user so I just know what I see from a distance, but I thought they were mostly third-party creations.

By: Interesting Reading #683 – Real “thinking cap”, Dell’s tablet, first programmable nanoprocessor, Nokia burning down and much more… – The Blogs at HowStuffWorks

Thu, 10 Feb 2011 03:28:14 +0000

[...] Apple Faces Scrutiny Over In-App Purchases By Kids – “While publishers are grumbling about Apple’s new enforcement of in-app purchases for content, parents and one lawmaker are also raising questions about the way Apple handles in-app payments in apps aimed at children. According to the Washington Post, Rep. Edward J. Markey (D – MA) on Tuesday urged the Federal Trade Commission to review the way Apple markets its apps because of questions about the ease with which children are buying items in games….” [...]

By: Scott

Scott — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 01:56:56 +0000

Actually, I really wish that they would remove the apps for adult audiences and put them is a seperate bin that requires the user to be 18 or older to access. Yes, you can set the parental features, but seperating this garbage from the rest of the population is an easier solution.

Android is worse in this area.

I hate to say it, but those screaming internet free speech for these apps need to get a life. Seperate the garbage out and keep things clean..

By: Ypulse Essentials: $1400 For Smurfberries, Kids Embrace The Kindle, Stardoll Gets ‘Real’ | Ypulse

Wed, 09 Feb 2011 22:56:23 +0000

[...] last week and since has received complaints from parents about their kids running up huge bills for virtual wagonloads of smurfberries and buckets of snowflakes bought in Smurfs' Village and Tap Zoo, two top-grossing apps that are rated for kids aged four and [...]

By: Anon

Anon — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 21:17:18 +0000

Here’s an idea. If you decide to allow your kid to play games on an iPhone or iPad, or whatever, how about you tell them “Do NOT buy anything in game, especially without my permission. Do you understand? If you buy something, I’ll find out, and that money will come from your pocket.”