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Apple Offers Refund After British Boy Spends $2500 on In-App Purchases in 15 Minutes
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Come on, you do in fact know why in-app purchases are enabled by default right? It's business after all. Nobody should have to spell that out for you.
Not being sarcastic but did you mean you couldn't care less?
Not everybody wants apps to auto update. I certainly don't. Sometimes apps get changed or features get taken away. A smart user should check out what's being updated before blindly pressing the update button. Too many times people come here P.O'd that Apple or a developer took away something in the recent update. Well don't update until you read.
Ah, I see, so even though the user knows what they are doing when the are making in-app purchases and they know they are being charged since the in-app purchase states how much the item in the game costs, it's still Apple's fault for not protecting the customer from stupidity. Got it.
Yet again you miss the entire point. eyeroll indeed.
no.. but if the neighbor stands by idly and watches the kid get hit by the car then yes, they are partially responsible.. (and in certain circumstances, may even face criminal charges)
Ah, I see, so even though the user knows what they are doing when the are making in-app purchases and they know they are being charged since the in-app purchase states how much the item in the game costs, it's still Apple's fault for not protecting the customer from stupidity. Got it.
No, the protection mechanism that Apple said would be in place was not there and as such it's Apple's resposibility that they rectify the issue and refund the money. Simple as that.
for real Henry, you apparently have no qualms about insinuating how smart of a user you are and how you could never make a mistake or be lured into a scam..
so why not put all of your smarts to good use? help other people who are stupid and less gifted than you see the errors in their ways.. i highly doubt the ignorant masses want to be dumb and/or bad parents.. and people like you have the ability to do something positive for them..
as i see it now, the extent of how you choose to use your brilliance is by calling other people stupid.. which, to me at least, doesn't seem very much of a gift at all..
************
Supervise your child ya Big Egg Banjo!!!
It's not Electronic CHILD CARE!!!!!
Give Apple it's money back. It's YOUR responsibility.
Supervise your child ya Big Egg Banjo!!!
It's not Electronic CHILD CARE!!!!!
Give Apple it's money back. It's YOUR responsibility.
I guess paranoid was a bad choice. You're right, we don't purchase hardly at all from the iTunes store so it's really not much of an inconvenience. My son and daughter both have an 8gb ipod touch that they use to facetime there grandmother who lives out of state and play games. I understand how a purchase works. The game he was playing was for his age range. The in app purchase was to modify his car in the game. There is no mention of money for these purchases, just a button that said upgrade - 100 points (apparently points translates to dollars) There isn't even a $ sign anywhere. I understand the parental controls and that was the one I had forgot about until then. I understand the purpose of having in-app purchases in some apps, but for apps that are aimed at kids, this is clearly a way to trick them into purchasing items at ridiculous prices.
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We hardly ever make purchases with iTunes. It's really not an inconvenience for us.
You know - I don't see why Apple has to block other versions of flash. After all - people who own computers should learn everything about their computer and what software is on it - if they get a virus because they didn't research first they are stupid idiots
https://www.macrumors.com/2013/03/0...older-versions-of-adobe-flash-player-plug-in/
/sarcasm
https://www.macrumors.com/2013/03/0...older-versions-of-adobe-flash-player-plug-in/
/sarcasm
And the way you're coming at me with that tonality doesn't make you any better. I didn't call anyone here directly dumb or stupid, I made generalized point so I don't appreciate you're self serving attitude directed to me.
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I certainly don't disagree with you that if Apple put a feature into the software that it should work, but you're making it too cut and dry. You're making excuses and apologizing for people not being responsible. I fail to see why you're trying to ignore the fact that people are making in-app purchases regardless. It's not like the app in general is automatically billing people without their knowledge. They intended to make the purchase so what difference does it make if Apple blocks them requiring a password.
I don't know Henry. See you might not have called anyone here directly dumb or stupid - but you certainly implied that people like the couple in the story would be. Let me refresh your memory...
"The parents are certainly not victims. That's a big laugh. Might as well call them plain stupid because they are if they are truly "victims". Especially since this issue deals with the iPad I'll give you some food for thought. These people bought an iPad, they have internet access, therefore if they have thousands of free resources of information from on the web. MR being one of them. YouTube being another. There are too many ways of retrieving information on the web before a customer buys anything. Back in the day we didn't have a fraction of such available information to help protect ourselves. We had to rely on the news on TV, , the newspaper, and consumer reports which we had to buy, .
I don't know how old you are but in the united states you're a legal adult by age 18 and by age 25 you're no longer given a pass for stupidity. You have to own up to it, period.
It is cut and dry. If a feature fails to work - it fails to work. The onus is then on Apple.
This is yet another example of Apples deliberate flaw to earn profits from the unknowing consumer. If the company had any responsibility it would set IAP's to require a password ON by default. It would also offer warnings about IAP purchases when you install an app etc.
But it doesn't as it full well knows it drives huge profits for them and the developers.
But it doesn't as it full well knows it drives huge profits for them and the developers.
Ok when computers ship with parental controls on by default then that will make sense.
Bad analogy.
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He asked for the password to download a free game. Not to make a purchase.
Apple has always been good about refunding digital purchases. Even if you accidentally spend $0.99 they will refund it.
My niece got a $10 gift card once for her birthday and accidentally bought two different versions of the same song. We sent an email to Apple, they refunded it, and she was allowed to keep the song she accidentally bought.
It is against the terms of service for in app purchase to be used for any "real world" product or service, and therefore Apple can refund whenever they want knowing that the developer will not loose any money. The refund comes out of the developer's pocket, Apple isn't loosing any money (probably not even transaction fees, they likely have a good deal with the credit card companies).
You ask for a refund, and you haven't got a history of refunding things all the time, then they will give it to you. Simple. I don't see what the big deal is, it's just good customer service.
I would like to see freemium apps banned from the store though.
That's if the neighbor is there to see it.... apparently, the parents of the boy in this post weren't there when the kid spent the $$ either...
Let's all send in a dollar to pay for the in app purchase... That way WE ALL take the blame... Just like your previous posts suggest.
I hope I'm not brought up on charges for failing to stop this kid from spending all that Money.... This could really spoil my weekend
Would be cool to see some sort of user login at the lock screen. This would be good for multiple users or children if you use a passcode.
wait.. what? now i'm saying 2500 people should pay a dollar to make up for the parents?
not at all.. my point was:
we should all be able to recognize the purchasing system is flawed and that no (as in not a single one) kid's game app should ever be able to rack up $2500 in 15 minutes.. (i don't care what kind of password protection or parental control is in place)
that is the problem that needs fixed.. the problem isn't bad parenting or stupid people.. the problem is shady developers and/or business practices at itunes..
and why someone wants to defend a con artist at the expense of belittling their generally honest & innocent neighbor is beyond me..
To an extent. Even the best parents in the world can't be attentive to every single thing their child does 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. All it takes is one tiny slip up for something like this to happen.
"Hey dad, can you put in your password? I want play this free game while I borrow your iPad"
"Yeah, sure thing, son".
uts in password, hands iPad back to kid:"Thanks, dad! Gee wizz, you're the greatest"!
:kid goes into living room, fires up the app, and starts hammering the buy 30 coins for 99 bucks button during the 15 minutes the password is up in the App Store:
See? It's a fairly simple thing to happen. Admittedly there are the parental locks inside of iOS, but not everyone knows about them, and most people won't even think to activate them if they only let their kid use their own iPad occasionally.
So who's to blame? If it only happens once, then it's just one of those things. You can't blame the parents for not knowing what their kid was intending to do here. Can't blame Apple for allowing it to happen. And the developers? They've gotta make money. It's not really their fault a kid goes haywire with in app purchases. Just consider it a lesson learned. Kid gets scolded. Apple refunds the cash. Life goes on with everyone a little wiser.
If it happens again and again and again, then yeah, go ahead. Blame the parents. Once is understandable. Twice is even excusable if it happens like, months later when they drop their guard (this AGAIN). But more than that, and it's their fault for not locking the iPad down when they hand it over to their kids. They know what could happen.
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