It looks like some of those iPhone apps out there aimed at kids may sometimes manage to fool children into making in-game purchases using a grown-up’s credit card. This reports was taken trough BBC .
Let’s look at the inside of the story;
Matthew is six and a fan of an iPhone app called Tap Resort Party, in which players build their own holiday park. This is a colorful game that seems set for kids, in which you buy properties not with cash but shells.
Now let’s hear what BBC has to say about this,“Dominic agreed to download the free game, but just a few days later, he got a nasty surprise when his credit card company called to warn him of several hundred pounds of unexpected spending on his iTunes account.”
Here Apple responded by saying that App purchase and In-App purchase can be restricted using Parental Controls. Parental Controls also can restrict apps based on app age ratings. In-app purchases and currencies cannot be used to acquire any physical goods, nor can they be used between applications, they can only be used for digital content or services provided by the application.
It seems Matthew had been tapping purchase shells in the game, each time he did the game charged the credit card £59.99. At issue, even though a password is required to download the app, iTunes will then stay logged in for 15 minutes, so you can make in-app purchases within that 15 minute window, and of course, each time you do the window gets extended.
Now the question is how Apple will improve in its app purchasing system to protect users from inadvertent purchases like this?
[Via- 9 to 5 Mac]
