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Apple Offers Refund After British Boy Spends $2500 on In-App Purchases in 15 Minutes
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WHY are you paranoid?! For your first purchase, you are required to put in a password. Just don't let your FIVE year old have the device while that password window is active (probably 15 minutes). You must not buy much because having to buy an iTunes card every time you want to use the store would be miserable.
Use the safe-guards that Apple has in place. They work.
The little boy and his mother were on BBC Breakfast this morning. Plenty of people tweeting and texting in to say they had similar experiences but Apple looks to have refunded in every case.
Day to day I code web sites, but I also develop apps and this is a growing part of my business. I hate the idea of the in app purchases (other than for subscriptions where it makes perfect sense) and have resisted the urge to incorporate them into my own software.
My wife is playing Hay Day at the moment and she's trying to avoid buying "diamonds" via IAP (a form of currency in the game) just to see if it can be done.
Although I haven't downloaded it, I really don't like the idea in the new Real Racing game where you get it for free but have to pay to avoid having to wait around before you can continue to play.
It just all sounds wrong.
However, the figures speak for themselves. My apps that are paid apps don't sell as many as I'd like mainly because people get free apps instead and then (most likely) end up paying much more overall via IAP. I'm seriously considering changing my model to give away my apps and then have parts of them available if you pay. Hate myself for even thinking it, but what else can I do?
Day to day I code web sites, but I also develop apps and this is a growing part of my business. I hate the idea of the in app purchases (other than for subscriptions where it makes perfect sense) and have resisted the urge to incorporate them into my own software.
My wife is playing Hay Day at the moment and she's trying to avoid buying "diamonds" via IAP (a form of currency in the game) just to see if it can be done.
Although I haven't downloaded it, I really don't like the idea in the new Real Racing game where you get it for free but have to pay to avoid having to wait around before you can continue to play.
It just all sounds wrong.
However, the figures speak for themselves. My apps that are paid apps don't sell as many as I'd like mainly because people get free apps instead and then (most likely) end up paying much more overall via IAP. I'm seriously considering changing my model to give away my apps and then have parts of them available if you pay. Hate myself for even thinking it, but what else can I do?
It's not society's fault, it's not Apple's fault, it's the Parents fault.
For F***s sake... Parents need to take responsibility for their children's actions. Especially a 5 Year-old's actions.
The App developer can charge what they want for their in app purchases... if people buy them and the company makes money, people stay employed.. which is good in these economic times.
Apple did a NICE thing by refunding the $$.... Maybe it was the RIGHT thing to do... but they certainly didn't have to do it.
Society isn't the responsible one here... Mom & Dad are !
A bit Cheeky?
A bit cheeky? Don't be ridiculous, it's both wrong and completely DECEPTIVE, and Apple is VERY MUCH to blame for allowing such Third Party apps to create such astronomically priced 'add ons' for games targeted at children. These companies that design these apps ARE WELL AWARE of their intended deception because they hope most parents won't do anything. Apple is to blame as is the company who makes the stupid app.
A bit cheeky? Don't be ridiculous, it's both wrong and completely DECEPTIVE, and Apple is VERY MUCH to blame for allowing such Third Party apps to create such astronomically priced 'add ons' for games targeted at children. These companies that design these apps ARE WELL AWARE of their intended deception because they hope most parents won't do anything. Apple is to blame as is the company who makes the stupid app.
This is a trap set by developers and I believe Apple should do more, we all know that kids don't have that cash to spend, every time I see this games when I install games for my kids I just remove them, even some paid apps which is little frustrating. There is good apps buy become garbage due constant pop ups to purchase this or that.
At the end of the day Apple approves these games, it's all about the $...
At the end of the day Apple approves these games, it's all about the $...
Well, with only one story as context, it is really not a good sample to get a impression in this case. Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of bad parents out there, that turn on the tv or give iPod, etc.
I'm willing to give the benefit of the doubt, since we don't know if it is a parent.
As a single father of two, there are times you do have to find a way to keep them occupied. For example, I'm recovering from pneumonia and still had custody of the kids last week-end. What is one suppose to do? In my case, my kids weren't really stimulated that week-end... And of course all the people that offer you help when you don't need it are not available when you do.
And in this day and age, kids need some *controlled* access to things computer, you don't want them to be computer illiterate.
That said, in my household, computer, tv and ipad/iphone is time constrained and I don't allow freemium games on my devices. And knowing this can happened, if I had to buy a game and let my son play for 15 minutes, I would go and sign off my iTunes account beforehand.
And kudos to Apple. They surely didn't have to refund, imh. But it does bring a bit more knowledge to some parents that are not technically savvy, but are still good parents.
Agreed.
This has got to be a tough issue for Apple... how do you allow developers the freedom to do what they feel is commercially viable, but yet police companies that seem to be bluntly ripping people off. Let's face it... $100+ for a weapons pack is a rip off by any standards.
I like that Apple monitors and restricts the iOS community in many ways... it's kept most of the riffraff out.... but again... it's a fine line they have to walk.
Anyway... I'm sure much more password typing is coming our way... I wish there was an "Adult and responsible" mode that could be turned on to reduce the security. That would at least keep me from having to type so much.
As I posted earlier all 3 parties need to take more responsibility
1. Developers - it's just wrong to give a free game to a child with $300 upgrade packs in them... give me a break. They're banking on the fact that parental controls aren't turned on.
2. Apple - should limit the amount of $$ a developer can charge for in-app purchases specifically for games.
3. Parents - learn controls and implement them.
1. Developers - it's just wrong to give a free game to a child with $300 upgrade packs in them... give me a break. They're banking on the fact that parental controls aren't turned on.
2. Apple - should limit the amount of $$ a developer can charge for in-app purchases specifically for games.
3. Parents - learn controls and implement them.
Yet everybody else is slagging off the kid's parents and saying how easy it is to block in-app purchases.
I'll be a piece of cake to turn them on if you "know what you are doing".
Depends on your relationship with the Bank, my Bank allows me to set the limit to higher or lower and it allows me to set a per transaction limit.
But that's been 20 or so years in the making.
The customer should have the presence of mind to ask questions.....if the dad knows he is going to let his 5-year old play games, he should at least be aware enough to find out if there are any parental controls.....
Please don't defend ignorant consumer behavior.....you're spending $500+ on a piece of technology, you should at least have some idea of how it works.....either by asking the retail salesperson or researching it online.....
Apple's slogan isn't an excuse for irresponsible behavior.
Maybe I feel this way because I've been blasted by a customer in two in my retail experience for them not knowing something they never asked about....I did my best to accurately represent the features, but I can't read your damn mind....and I also can't go through every use case for the device there is.....
Consumers can get away with anything these days....not to get political, but what a mirror for the overall attitude of our society.
Because a lot of 5-year-old children are more tech savvy than their parents. There was a saying in the 90s that if you wanted someone to set a VCR, you should ask a child to do it. This holds equally well for today's tech.
Of course, no-one posting on an internet forum is likely to fall into this category.
The BBC reports: "She (the boy's mother) added that he had asked for the pass code for a free download and then continued to play with the device for a further 15 minutes."
Mystery solved. She gave the boy the password. Careless mother if you ask me. But I still think these Freemium games should be banned.
Mystery solved. She gave the boy the password. Careless mother if you ask me. But I still think these Freemium games should be banned.
Agreed, or use one of the many options from Banks and Visa/MC/Amex to set up "fake" credit card numbers tied to your (hidden to the web real one) that allow you to use online and set lower limits, set the expiration date and adjust the limits when you hit them.
Shopsafe is one and I know Visa is another but I can't remember the name of theirs.
I just love when I read stuff like this. (especially when it's expressed in caps
) Some people here just won't stop. When Apple restricts their users here or restrict what the developers and can and cannot do the people here start getting rude and calling Apple, Jobs and Cook all sorts of nasty names. Oh, but when the poor customer decided to play Mr./Mrs. Lazy, doesn't want to set parental controls, doesn't want to watch what their kids are buying, simply turn off the internet and doesn't want to own up to their own mistakes they now want Apple to restrict what the developers can and cannot do. Entitlement, Entitlement, Entitlement. 
It's a five year old. He doesn't think "purchases". He doesn't even know what a "purchase" is. He most likely cannot read. He sees a few buttons with pretty pictures, and when he presses the right button, some funny music plays. So he presses the button again. And again. And again. For $49.99 each time. He is just proud that he made the iPad play funny music.
No matter how irresponsible: The child didn't cause any damage that the parents might be responsible for. The child purchased things. "Purchase" means there was a contract between seller and purchaser. A contract with a five year old is voidable, which means the child or his guardians can void the contract at any time, at which time the goods have to be returned if possible, and the money has to be returned. When I say "returned if possible", there have been plenty of cases where companies didn't receive goods back and still had to refund the money.
Laws are totally contradicting what you are saying. When children enter a contract, the contract is voidable, and when it is voided, any payments have to be paid back. The parents voided the contract on their child's behalf. Which is _exactly_ what the laws in any civilised country allow them to do.
That money isn't coming out of Apple's pocket. It comes out of the developers' pocket. Which of course _might_ be a multibillion dollar company, but most likely isn't. And yes, it is interesting how parents are supposed to take personal responsibility for a five year old child's action, but companies are not asked to take personal responsibility for designing purchases in such a way that kid's rack up $2,500 bills.
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Wow! Yes, it's all the evil corporations' that are always at fault, always.
you're only screwing yourself and your neighbors by defending them.. corporations and banks have exactly one goal in mind.. and that is to take your money (time/labor/etc).. that's it
everything else is secondary.. at the root, they don't give a single care about you or your neighbor.. they don't care if you die. they don't care if you're healthy, they don't care if you're hungry..
why on earth would you care about them?