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Apple Reportedly 'Scrambling' to Make Required Changes to In-App Purchase Policies
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To do that I would have to download the app on the iPad, which I would have to pay for....again.
Maybe that particular app isn't universal and doesn't have an iPad version within it (and perhaps a separate iPad version as a separate app as some developers do)?
That is what I would do, however I grew up with parents who didn't understand technology. I know parents today who barely get it and may not be aware of every detail. They could have made the default behavior to require credit card input with each purchase. If you want one click purchasing, it must be enabled. That way you have made a conscious choice to set it that way. It's also a bit odd extending that to in app purchases. There isn't even a real analogy with tangible items. If your kid grabbed something off the shelf in a store, you could put it back. You can't really do that with in app purchases, and they have no return policy.
You can turn off all in-app purchases entirely via the "Restrictions" menu.
My 2-year-old uses my iPad all the time, so I have in-app purchases (as well as the ability to delete apps) turned off. If I need to use those things, it's a minor annoyance to go into settings and turn them on. It would be a much bigger annoyance if he bought something I didn't want him to.
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But you said you upgraded to the paid version within the app, which implies that the app is free to download and then you pay the upgrade fee later. So you download the free app, then restore purchases within the app.
I dont think its even that involved. Just dont attempt to purchase apps you dont think you want and make sure parental controls are ON if your kids use your device.
Ive never had a problem with any of this so I dont get it.
Even though there are these simple choices to prevent accidental/automatic purchases, people will continue to complain & make excuses for their decisions.I dont think its even that involved. Just dont attempt to purchase apps you dont think you want and make sure parental controls are ON if your kids use your device.
Ive never had a problem with any of this so I dont get it.
Sure... By "accident".
Well yes as you say, he was stupid and just bought loads of in-game crap. But I mean kids don't know the value of things and have no idea about what things mean sometimes, that's why I said "by accident". The point is, it's very easy for kids to spend tons of money on games through in-app purchases, not fully realising what they're doing.
Even though Apple didn't use simple common sense for the default security choices to prevent accidental purchases, some people will continue to try to blame the users, and to make excuses for Apple's bad decisions.
Apple soon figured out that having a secret timeout as the default was not the best idea. They were refunding purchases even before class actions and the government got involved. They also changed the defaults.
Btw, for anyone wondering, the purchased virtual items were also taken back. Nobody got anything for free.
I'll add that Google might not be getting the heat for their process (yet - there seems to be a lawsuit going on right now which could change things) because although they have a 30-minute window - the default setting is OFF to allow it. A user has to turn the option "on" to be able to not require a password (immediately) for purchases/IAP
They do have an iPad version. I just re-purchased the app. iTunes didn't recognize that it was previously purchased. Oh well, it's only $3. But that doesn't make it okay.
What I mean is that perhaps their iPad app is different and separate from the iPhone app, and purchasing one doesn't necessarily purchase the other.
If they're too young and/or dumb to realize what they're doing, why are they being handed the password necessary to do it?!
Seems like that's the whole point behind what was wrong with the system and what was being addressed--that a password was entered to download an application, and then was valid for some time without the parent knowing about it, while whoever was using the app in that time could have made in-app purchases without even giving any of it a second thought as they would go through without asking for the password. Hasn't this already been discussed a number of times in this thread and pretty much settled almost 2 months ago?