iTunes already has an "allowance" system built in for the kiddies. There is absolutely no reason to provide kids with a password that accesses the Credit Card.
This what happens when parents don't investigate a devices features before giving to their kids to "babysit" them. These are the same parents who buy mature rated games because their kids told them to get it.
or else the parent was not checking his or her iTunes receipt emails (sometimes arrive days after the purchase).
Yes, and how come every other e-commerce vendor can send a receipt or order notice minutes after ordering and it takes the mighty Apple days to send an invoice for an online download?
At least if my kid ordered something and I got an email right away, I could stop them from ordering anything else. Your idea of having two passwords, one for the phone and another for ordering, is a good one or there could be a "kids mode" which requires a different password to get out of. In "kids mode", there would be no credit card ordering permitted at all.
Did you actually read the article? It's not about giving kids a password, it's about the previous iTunes/App Store set up that allowed further purchases within a fifteen minute time frame, including in-app purchases. Kids don't need a password for that. Have dad download the game, start playing, and stumble on an in-app purchase - and then there's nothing blocking the kid from just going ahead with the purchase. I doubt the kids even realized it cost anything. Now you can't do that, it forces you to input your password again.
Apple should have seen this coming. In-app purchases were ripe for this kind of problem from the start. I won't say they were hoping to reap the rewards of accidental purchases, but surely they saw the problem early and could have updated iOS to stop this long ago. I do think, however, that these lawsuits are pretty frivolous - we're talking a couple hundred dollars and a problem that has been solved. There is no real reason to go ahead with this other than greed, IMO.
Dad could have logged out of the app store BEFORE giving the device to the kids. It's his fault he didn't treat his credit card with more respect. When you hand somebody a device that stores your credit card info, it's the same as handing over your credit card. Sorry he had to find out the hard way.
Most of us here agree that the parents should take the responsibility to not just give into their kids when they beg, cry, demand for passwords. And this suit should be thrown out.
It's ridiculous to say apple is at fault for this. The parental controls on this subject are well fleshed out.
I do think apple should consider allowing "children's" accounts which don't require a credit card but do require a "parent" account to be registered. This way the child has there own password, and can download free apps and updates, but can't spend money. People could gift these accounts money and parents could even receive the receipts for their children's accounts too, so they can still monitor usage.
It's probable that the courts will rule in this guys favor, especially if it makes it up to circuit court, but it really is this guys own fault. And yes, I know being a parent is hard, but you can not tell your kids the password and you can simply tell them "no" when they keep asking you to download stuff.
Another option, and this one is 100% guaranteed to never get you into any financial trouble, is simply don't attach a credit card or debit card to your iTunes account. Just use iTunes gift cards. This is exactly what I do, and it saves me a lot of money because I am alot more judicious with my app purchases.
Did you actually read the article? It's not about giving kids a password, it's about the previous iTunes/App Store set up that allowed further purchases within a fifteen minute time frame, including in-app purchases. Kids don't need a password for that. Have dad download the game, start playing, and stumble on an in-app purchase - and then there's nothing blocking the kid from just going ahead with the purchase. I doubt the kids even realized it cost anything. Now you can't do that, it forces you to input your password again.
Apple should have seen this coming. In-app purchases were ripe for this kind of problem from the start. I won't say they were hoping to reap the rewards of accidental purchases, but surely they saw the problem early and could have updated iOS to stop this long ago. I do think, however, that these lawsuits are pretty frivolous - we're talking a couple hundred dollars and a problem that has been solved. There is no real reason to go ahead with this other than greed, IMO.
Before accusing others of not reading an article, perhaps you should read it better first. It quite clearly says in the article, quoting the lawsuit itself
Quote:
"Because the passwords now required for purchases of Game Currency are the same passwords required for any Apple purchase, minors aware of such password may purchase Game Currency without authorization from their parents for that purchase," the lawsuit reads.
It's the parent's decision to give their minors a password tied to their credit card.
Yes, and how come every other e-commerce vendor can send a receipt or order notice minutes after ordering and it takes the mighty Apple days to send an invoice for an online download?
At least if my kid ordered something and I got an email right away, I could stop them from ordering anything else. Your idea of having two passwords, one for the phone and another for ordering, is a good one or there could be a "kids mode" which requires a different password to get out of. In "kids mode", there would be no credit card ordering permitted at all.
I believe they try to group purchases together to minimize credit card transaction fees. If you buy 3 games and rent 2 movies over a 2 day span, they want to process that as a single transaction instead of 5. The credit card fee for a single 99 cent transaction is more than the percentage they keep of a given sale. Other vendors such as amazon already group your items together as a single sale.
From there you can set up all sorts of restrictions. Including enabling/disabling in-app purchases.
It's always been there. If parents are too lazy to look for this stuff then I have zero sympathy.
I'm a parent. I never thought to even look, so thanks for the heads up. But as a parent I do have sympathy. I used not to but after a short while of parenthood I stopped blaming parents. The reality of parenthood is much different from the inside than the outside. My guess is that most parents, even tech savvy ones, would say, "The password is 'xyz'. Now get out of my hair", followed by "Only free apps, OK?", never even thinking there might be anything like in-app purchases. Not saying it warrants a class action lawsuit but all you people coming down hard on parents - do you have kids?
Is the Federal Trade Commision going to be investigating Facebook and Zynga next? There is really no difference with in "app" purchases. You can play the games for free, but if you want certain benefits or extras you pay with micro transactions. This is even spilling over into MMOs now with Lord Of The Rings: Online opting for micro transitions and even Blizzard to a certain extent with pets/mounts able to be purchased for World of Warcraft. Three are a lot of MMOs aimed a children as well that rely solely on micro transactions. In the end parents need to be more aware of what their children are playing and restrict access to anything they do not want their child to play.
I'm a parent. I never thought to even look, so thanks for the heads up. But as a parent I do have sympathy. I used not to but after a short while of parenthood I stopped blaming parents. The reality of parenthood is much different from the inside than the outside. My guess is that most parents, even tech savvy ones, would say, "The password is 'xyz'. Now get out of hair", followed by "Only free apps, OK?", never even thinking there might be anything like in-app purchases. Not saying it warrants a class action lawsuit but all you people coming down hard on parents - do you have kids?
I did have a suggestion how Apple could deal with these types of apps further up the thread. Here again I summarize:
Those games should not be included in the free games section. Apple could easily make a definition of a 'free' game or app that stated it may contain ads but no in app sales. Even an upgrade from a light to a full version should not be from within a 'free app' rather an ad would state it has to be 'purchased from the non-free section.
This what happens when parents don't investigate a devices features before giving to their kids to "babysit" them. These are the same parents who buy mature rated games because their kids told them to get it.
Quoting a phrase from the movie Airplane (1) : "I say, let them crash"
I did have a suggestion how Apple could deal with these types of apps further up the thread. Here again I summarize:
Those games should not be included in the free games section. Apple could easily make a definition of a 'free' game or app that stated it may contain ads but no in app sales. Even an upgrade from a light to a full version should not be from within a 'free app' rather an ad would state it has to be 'purchased from the non-free section.
i.e. stop classifying them as 'free'
That said parents need to be vigilant.
No doubt, parents need be vigilant. I always warn friends who get their kids iPods that they need to 'manage' it because its not really an iPod, its a computer. That said, when the receipts of in app purchases are emailed (are they emailed like normal purchases? I don't even know), they could have a line about secondary password or available parental controls.
iTunes already has an "allowance" system built in for the kiddies. There is absolutely no reason to provide kids with a password that accesses the Credit Card.
The system is not perfect and there is a very compelling reason - money. I have an iTunes account. My wife and I have iPhones. My kids have ipod touches. We have an iPad. Because of the way Apple lets you share apps we all use the same account (If I buy a game, everybody else in my family can download it for free. If we separate the accounts everybody has to pay individually). What would make it perfect would be if apple allowed members of a family account to download free, or more importantly, previously bought apps using their own sub account.
Did you actually read the article? It's not about giving kids a password, it's about the previous iTunes/App Store set up that allowed further purchases within a fifteen minute time frame, including in-app purchases. Kids don't need a password for that. Have dad download the game, start playing, and stumble on an in-app purchase - and then there's nothing blocking the kid from just going ahead with the purchase. I doubt the kids even realized it cost anything. Now you can't do that, it forces you to input your password again.
Apple should have seen this coming. In-app purchases were ripe for this kind of problem from the start. I won't say they were hoping to reap the rewards of accidental purchases, but surely they saw the problem early and could have updated iOS to stop this long ago. I do think, however, that these lawsuits are pretty frivolous - we're talking a couple hundred dollars and a problem that has been solved. There is no real reason to go ahead with this other than greed, IMO.
You seem to be the only commenter in this thread capable of reading comprehension. +1 to you for recognizing the 15 minute window being the problem, and now being fixed.
Quote:
Originally Posted by HammerofTruth
Dad could have logged out of the app store BEFORE giving the device to the kids. It's his fault he didn't treat his credit card with more respect. When you hand somebody a device that stores your credit card info, it's the same as handing over your credit card. Sorry he had to find out the hard way.
This is inaccurate. Once you'd entered your password to install a free app there was no way to log out to disallow in app purchases, even rebooting one's phone left the authorization for in-app purchases active for 15 minutes.
Comments
iTunes already has an "allowance" system built in for the kiddies. There is absolutely no reason to provide kids with a password that accesses the Credit Card.
This what happens when parents don't investigate a devices features before giving to their kids to "babysit" them. These are the same parents who buy mature rated games because their kids told them to get it.
or else the parent was not checking his or her iTunes receipt emails (sometimes arrive days after the purchase).
Yes, and how come every other e-commerce vendor can send a receipt or order notice minutes after ordering and it takes the mighty Apple days to send an invoice for an online download?
At least if my kid ordered something and I got an email right away, I could stop them from ordering anything else. Your idea of having two passwords, one for the phone and another for ordering, is a good one or there could be a "kids mode" which requires a different password to get out of. In "kids mode", there would be no credit card ordering permitted at all.
Did you actually read the article? It's not about giving kids a password, it's about the previous iTunes/App Store set up that allowed further purchases within a fifteen minute time frame, including in-app purchases. Kids don't need a password for that. Have dad download the game, start playing, and stumble on an in-app purchase - and then there's nothing blocking the kid from just going ahead with the purchase. I doubt the kids even realized it cost anything. Now you can't do that, it forces you to input your password again.
Apple should have seen this coming. In-app purchases were ripe for this kind of problem from the start. I won't say they were hoping to reap the rewards of accidental purchases, but surely they saw the problem early and could have updated iOS to stop this long ago. I do think, however, that these lawsuits are pretty frivolous - we're talking a couple hundred dollars and a problem that has been solved. There is no real reason to go ahead with this other than greed, IMO.
Dad could have logged out of the app store BEFORE giving the device to the kids. It's his fault he didn't treat his credit card with more respect. When you hand somebody a device that stores your credit card info, it's the same as handing over your credit card. Sorry he had to find out the hard way.
Tap General
Scroll down and tap Restrictions
Tap Enable Restrictions
It asks you for a 4 number passcode
From there you can set up all sorts of restrictions. Including enabling/disabling in-app purchases.
It's always been there. If parents are too lazy to look for this stuff then I have zero sympathy.
I just hope the judge feels the same way.
Open Settings
Tap General
Scroll down and tap Restrictions
Tap Enable Restrictions
It asks you for a 4 number passcode
From there you can set up all sorts of restrictions. Including enabling/disabling in-app purchases.
It's always been there. If parents are too lazy to look for this stuff then I have zero sympathy.
exactly.
I do think apple should consider allowing "children's" accounts which don't require a credit card but do require a "parent" account to be registered. This way the child has there own password, and can download free apps and updates, but can't spend money. People could gift these accounts money and parents could even receive the receipts for their children's accounts too, so they can still monitor usage.
Another option, and this one is 100% guaranteed to never get you into any financial trouble, is simply don't attach a credit card or debit card to your iTunes account. Just use iTunes gift cards. This is exactly what I do, and it saves me a lot of money because I am alot more judicious with my app purchases.
Did you actually read the article? It's not about giving kids a password, it's about the previous iTunes/App Store set up that allowed further purchases within a fifteen minute time frame, including in-app purchases. Kids don't need a password for that. Have dad download the game, start playing, and stumble on an in-app purchase - and then there's nothing blocking the kid from just going ahead with the purchase. I doubt the kids even realized it cost anything. Now you can't do that, it forces you to input your password again.
Apple should have seen this coming. In-app purchases were ripe for this kind of problem from the start. I won't say they were hoping to reap the rewards of accidental purchases, but surely they saw the problem early and could have updated iOS to stop this long ago. I do think, however, that these lawsuits are pretty frivolous - we're talking a couple hundred dollars and a problem that has been solved. There is no real reason to go ahead with this other than greed, IMO.
Before accusing others of not reading an article, perhaps you should read it better first. It quite clearly says in the article, quoting the lawsuit itself
"Because the passwords now required for purchases of Game Currency are the same passwords required for any Apple purchase, minors aware of such password may purchase Game Currency without authorization from their parents for that purchase," the lawsuit reads.
It's the parent's decision to give their minors a password tied to their credit card.
Yes, and how come every other e-commerce vendor can send a receipt or order notice minutes after ordering and it takes the mighty Apple days to send an invoice for an online download?
At least if my kid ordered something and I got an email right away, I could stop them from ordering anything else. Your idea of having two passwords, one for the phone and another for ordering, is a good one or there could be a "kids mode" which requires a different password to get out of. In "kids mode", there would be no credit card ordering permitted at all.
I believe they try to group purchases together to minimize credit card transaction fees. If you buy 3 games and rent 2 movies over a 2 day span, they want to process that as a single transaction instead of 5. The credit card fee for a single 99 cent transaction is more than the percentage they keep of a given sale. Other vendors such as amazon already group your items together as a single sale.
Open Settings
Tap General
Scroll down and tap Restrictions
Tap Enable Restrictions
It asks you for a 4 number passcode
From there you can set up all sorts of restrictions. Including enabling/disabling in-app purchases.
It's always been there. If parents are too lazy to look for this stuff then I have zero sympathy.
I'm a parent. I never thought to even look, so thanks for the heads up. But as a parent I do have sympathy. I used not to but after a short while of parenthood I stopped blaming parents. The reality of parenthood is much different from the inside than the outside. My guess is that most parents, even tech savvy ones, would say, "The password is 'xyz'. Now get out of my hair", followed by "Only free apps, OK?", never even thinking there might be anything like in-app purchases. Not saying it warrants a class action lawsuit but all you people coming down hard on parents - do you have kids?
I'm a parent. I never thought to even look, so thanks for the heads up. But as a parent I do have sympathy. I used not to but after a short while of parenthood I stopped blaming parents. The reality of parenthood is much different from the inside than the outside. My guess is that most parents, even tech savvy ones, would say, "The password is 'xyz'. Now get out of hair", followed by "Only free apps, OK?", never even thinking there might be anything like in-app purchases. Not saying it warrants a class action lawsuit but all you people coming down hard on parents - do you have kids?
I did have a suggestion how Apple could deal with these types of apps further up the thread. Here again I summarize:
Those games should not be included in the free games section. Apple could easily make a definition of a 'free' game or app that stated it may contain ads but no in app sales. Even an upgrade from a light to a full version should not be from within a 'free app' rather an ad would state it has to be 'purchased from the non-free section.
i.e. stop classifying them as 'free'
That said parents need to be vigilant.
This what happens when parents don't investigate a devices features before giving to their kids to "babysit" them. These are the same parents who buy mature rated games because their kids told them to get it.
Quoting a phrase from the movie Airplane (1) : "I say, let them crash"
I did have a suggestion how Apple could deal with these types of apps further up the thread. Here again I summarize:
Those games should not be included in the free games section. Apple could easily make a definition of a 'free' game or app that stated it may contain ads but no in app sales. Even an upgrade from a light to a full version should not be from within a 'free app' rather an ad would state it has to be 'purchased from the non-free section.
i.e. stop classifying them as 'free'
That said parents need to be vigilant.
No doubt, parents need be vigilant. I always warn friends who get their kids iPods that they need to 'manage' it because its not really an iPod, its a computer. That said, when the receipts of in app purchases are emailed (are they emailed like normal purchases? I don't even know), they could have a line about secondary password or available parental controls.
I hate people.
"A person is smart. People are stupid."
iTunes already has an "allowance" system built in for the kiddies. There is absolutely no reason to provide kids with a password that accesses the Credit Card.
The system is not perfect and there is a very compelling reason - money. I have an iTunes account. My wife and I have iPhones. My kids have ipod touches. We have an iPad. Because of the way Apple lets you share apps we all use the same account (If I buy a game, everybody else in my family can download it for free. If we separate the accounts everybody has to pay individually). What would make it perfect would be if apple allowed members of a family account to download free, or more importantly, previously bought apps using their own sub account.
Did you actually read the article? It's not about giving kids a password, it's about the previous iTunes/App Store set up that allowed further purchases within a fifteen minute time frame, including in-app purchases. Kids don't need a password for that. Have dad download the game, start playing, and stumble on an in-app purchase - and then there's nothing blocking the kid from just going ahead with the purchase. I doubt the kids even realized it cost anything. Now you can't do that, it forces you to input your password again.
Apple should have seen this coming. In-app purchases were ripe for this kind of problem from the start. I won't say they were hoping to reap the rewards of accidental purchases, but surely they saw the problem early and could have updated iOS to stop this long ago. I do think, however, that these lawsuits are pretty frivolous - we're talking a couple hundred dollars and a problem that has been solved. There is no real reason to go ahead with this other than greed, IMO.
You seem to be the only commenter in this thread capable of reading comprehension. +1 to you for recognizing the 15 minute window being the problem, and now being fixed.
Dad could have logged out of the app store BEFORE giving the device to the kids. It's his fault he didn't treat his credit card with more respect. When you hand somebody a device that stores your credit card info, it's the same as handing over your credit card. Sorry he had to find out the hard way.
This is inaccurate. Once you'd entered your password to install a free app there was no way to log out to disallow in app purchases, even rebooting one's phone left the authorization for in-app purchases active for 15 minutes.