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EU Finds Apple Lacking in Efforts to Address In-App Payment Issues
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If a parent is smart enough to set up their credit card details against their Apple id, then they are smart enough to turn off in-app purchases.
This is like telling kitchen knife manufacturers to make their knives out of rubber because someone might hurt themselves.
Apple even reimburse these ungrateful irresponsible parents when their kids run up ridiculous bills, so where is the problem exactly?
What about the vast majority of iOS users who enjoy using apps for free due to this pricing model?
This is like telling kitchen knife manufacturers to make their knives out of rubber because someone might hurt themselves.
Apple even reimburse these ungrateful irresponsible parents when their kids run up ridiculous bills, so where is the problem exactly?
What about the vast majority of iOS users who enjoy using apps for free due to this pricing model?
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A GREAT day for Google clearly leading the industry, a poor day for Apple showing it's lagging and apparent decision to ignore the rules by not stating they will do anything about them...
Google will remove the word 'Free' from freemium, IAP etc etc apps... Apple so far will not...
Hmmm no doubt Apple wants to look after it's 30% cut from every single IAP made. 🙄 I just hope the European courts take all that money off them in fines if they choose to ignore the rules.
Because advertising an app as 'free' when it has IAP, especially if you are required to buy those IAP's is false advertising and misleading.
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Oh I dunno, perhaps when they by default set settings to allow children to buy IAP's with no security or stoppages to seemingly profit from those purchases with it's 30% cut perhaps?
Google will remove the word 'Free' from freemium, IAP etc etc apps... Apple so far will not...
Hmmm no doubt Apple wants to look after it's 30% cut from every single IAP made. 🙄 I just hope the European courts take all that money off them in fines if they choose to ignore the rules.
Because advertising an app as 'free' when it has IAP, especially if you are required to buy those IAP's is false advertising and misleading.
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Oh I dunno, perhaps when they by default set settings to allow children to buy IAP's with no security or stoppages to seemingly profit from those purchases with it's 30% cut perhaps?
charlituna
macrumors G3
I could follow that. Although you are correct that many folks won't notice it cause hey they just don't pay attention.
As for the games that basically require you to pay to play, at least beyond say the first couple of levels. i'm torn on those. I know some folks want to see them banned. I don't. not outright. I just want to see them curbed so that either they are upfront that the first X levels are basically a 'demo' and then you pay once to open the rest or when you pay you get a significant chunk of whatever for your money (so like I would take a 'free' angry birds that gives me a pack of 20 levels and I pay like 99 cents for each 20 that comes out later. but not like 4.99 for the same thing). Or it has to be possible to play at a reasonable speed without paying and paying just lets you speed it up because you are a total impatient freak.
And I would like to see how many ads those free games are tossing in limited just a tad. Some games are ridiculous with how many ads they put in. Or require them to give us an IAP that shuts them off completely for a sensible amount.
They would have given Apple and the others guidelines and the law change, or reiterate the correct meaning of the law I should imagine.
Are you implying a multi billion dollar global corporation is incapable of understanding international law? No, they understand how to get around international law to increase profits, they ALL do that..
It is up to Apple to work out how to comply as it's Apples store that's at fault.
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I agree... I love Real Racing 3, I have spent some money on it, but I don't feel the need to now when they have random adverts for random things in it, it was alright promoting in game cars on sale etc, but now you literally get a totally random product advert pop up!
IMO if an app has advertising it should be banned from charging a price to buy it and it should be banned from any kind of IAP, the devs have chosen their bed with going with advertising in the game.
Should be 3 clear purchase types CLEARLY labelled in the store:
In app advertising
IAP or Freemium
Purchase the app outright at.
And let people play the first couple of levels and then make the whole game unlockable with an one off IAP.
Seriously, at what point does being an educated consumer come in. It seems like every little detail needs to be spelled out for people these days. Something like an in app purchase is hell on earth, but there are far worse fine print problems out there.
EU lawmakers: "We seem to have a tremendous lack of income from our lazy, underworked, socialist population. How will we ever fund all of these social services? Hey, let's sue wealthy American corporations over absolutely frivolous *********. Money, baby. Money!!"
They have.
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I have an idea. Why don't they write "with in app purchases" below the price? Oh wait... they do.
springsup
macrumors 65816
The EU does a lot of good. You absolutely do not speak for the UK when criticising them.
Many EU countries (which are subject to the same laws and regulations) have much stronger economies and happier societies than the UK. The EU does things like abolishing transaction fees when sending money across borders (SEPA) and abolishing roaming charges.
It's the UK's own fault that it kicks and screams and moans about everything Europe does. It should instead look at countries flourishing within the EU, such as Germany, and try to be more like them.
I've lived in the UK for 15 years and in Germany for another 15, so I absolutely know what I'm talking about here. Life on the continent is much better, wages are much higher and living costs are kept much lower. People work less, holiday more, and generally have much happier, more fulfilling lives.
Whenever I arrive back in the UK I'm struck by how far behind the times it is; crumbling infrastructure, overworked people in high amounts of debt, and politicians trying to convince people that they should abolish the working-time directive and work longer hours and how they should devalue their currency so people have less purchasing power. You'd think we were still in the Victorian era.
Those "Demos" are the worst! so many of them are an absolute waste of a download. Most of them barely even qualify as a "free trial" of an app.
Shooter game that you start with 2 bullets... But you can get 5 bullets for $0.99, 10 for $4.99 and 100 for $99 or something astronomical like that.
dec.
Suspended
I was just looking at the google play store and there they tell me that "Candy Crush Saga" is a free app. Do you have an opinion on that?
Oletros
macrumors 603
It doesn't matter how clear you make stuff readable or understandable, they'll stil do whatever they feel like.
Solution : Don't allow the 15 minute window
Solution : Don't allow the 15 minute window
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SvP
macrumors 6502
This is an "idiot protection law". Lots of parents are idiots, so it's a huge problem.
edit: i'm having a bad day.
Two points:
It was in in fact the UK's consumer protection body that led the way in Europe on this.
The use of passcodes etc is only one part of this. Consumer protection as it applies to children is about marketing and pester pressure, which many of these games are designed to exploit.
M.
It was in in fact the UK's consumer protection body that led the way in Europe on this.
The use of passcodes etc is only one part of this. Consumer protection as it applies to children is about marketing and pester pressure, which many of these games are designed to exploit.
M.
s2mikey
Suspended
The main cause of this is the freemium model which IMO has almost ruined the AppStore and gaming. Everything is FREE.... At first it seems. Of course you are playing a crippled version of the game or are bombarded with ads and other NOT niceties.
I blame all the CHEAP, lame people who simply can't part with $3 or $5 lousy bucks for an app but they'll happily take it for free and then end up spending 3x that to get the game anyways via buying gems or crystals or whatever. I can't stand it.... PLEASE bring back the FULL game purchase option where I get all the content right off the bat. I'd rather pay for this upfront versus this obnoxious, unbearably annoying freemium model.😡
Nice job, you CHEAP bassturds.
I blame all the CHEAP, lame people who simply can't part with $3 or $5 lousy bucks for an app but they'll happily take it for free and then end up spending 3x that to get the game anyways via buying gems or crystals or whatever. I can't stand it.... PLEASE bring back the FULL game purchase option where I get all the content right off the bat. I'd rather pay for this upfront versus this obnoxious, unbearably annoying freemium model.😡
Nice job, you CHEAP bassturds.
Games that requires in-app purchase should never be target towards an audience younger than 16. Easy.
Fine, but you are the one that jumped all over another poster first, and IMO made him an enemy over IAP. Guess it bothers you when reciprocated?
Yes, Apple should remove the Free part of the advertising. It has in app purchases, and instead of claiming that in tiny writing below the big FREE writing, it should swap them so the FREE is the small text.
inkswamp
macrumors 68030
Consumer protection, I understand, but this is sort of pointless. What exactly are people being protected from with this? I'll rephrase my original question to you.
Have you ever been confused when an app prompts you to pay for something?
It wasn't removed by the government.
It was removed because Apple would not update the machine. An update that was in the pipe-line before that specific machine was even made for sale.
Apple stopped the selling of the old mac pro, no-one else.