A refund settlement has been reached between Apple and the US Federal Trade Commission to give approximately £19.9million to parents whose children have been mislead into making in-app purchases.
The agreement has come after a huge amount of complaints have been made by parents because their children were buying their way into levels and start ups without their consent when playing mobile games.
As a result, Apple will now have to alter their billing requirements in order to minimise in-app purchases without consent in the future. The technology agreed to settle the dispute quickly and efficiently rather than to embark on a “long legal battle fight”.
The FTC specifically took issue with the lack of information for parents, and that with one password entry they could be authorising any single in-app purchase their children could have made. Apple would often present parents with a password entry requirement without informing them that this could finalise any purchase made in the app.
Though the refund settlement is specifically for US Apple customers, the company has been equally quick to settle complaints from parents in the UK. The Office of Fair Trading also released a new guideline for app developers late last year to make sure games aren’t misleading users about in-app purchases.
The App Store offers adults and children alike the opportunity to play a range of games which can cost money later on. These purchases can be made on start-ups, level upgrades, virtual items or currency and can hinder progression in the game when they are not bought.
