Children and In-App Purchases
Looking through the strategies that mobile game developers employ to entice players to pay for upgrades, I couldn't help but wonder about what safety measures are put in place to prevent children from making purchases on phones which already have credit card data stored in the App/Play Stores. Here's what I've found out:
In early 2014, Google decided to change the way "freemium" apps were listed on their Play Store, in an effort to curb users into being misled about the app. They also set guidelines for developers, in order to change the way that approval prompts are shown while using the apps. At the time the article was being written, Apple came under fire at that time for not putting in efforts to prevent children from being targeted for in-app purchases.
Later that year, Apple was forced by the Federal Trade Commission to refund at least $32.5m to parents of children who had made purchases in the App store without their knowledge or permission, after the agency said that it had received “at least tens of thousands of complaints” from parents regarding unauthorised purchases. As a part of the agreement, Apple had agreed to change its app purchasing process. Previously, after the password was keyed into the app to approve a purchase, there was a 15-minute window where other purchases could be made without typing the password again.
The security flaw has since been remedied, and Apple now gives user very detailed instructions on how users can set up parental restrictions for when children are using their devices
All in all, I think it's safe to say that platform providers play a crucial role in ensuring that game developers produce better games and children don't end up the target of freemium-purchase bombardment. However, parental controls should also be put into place, and children under a certain age shouldn't be left to use mobile devices for extended periods of time unsupervised.
References:
Holpuch, A. (2014). Apple to pay $32.5m over practice that let children make in-app purchases. [online] the Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/jan/15/apple-practice-children-make-in-app-purchases [Accessed 19 Dec. 2016].
McCarthy, J. (2014). European Commission chastises Apple over misleading 'free' apps. [online] The Drum. Available at: http://www.thedrum.com/news/2014/07/18/european-commission-chastises-apple-over-misleading-free-apps [Accessed 19 Dec. 2016].
West, G. (2014). Google to change the way 'freemium' apps are listed from September. [online] The Drum. Available at: http://www.thedrum.com/news/2014/07/20/google-change-way-freemium-apps-are-listed-september [Accessed 19 Dec. 2016].
In early 2014, Google decided to change the way "freemium" apps were listed on their Play Store, in an effort to curb users into being misled about the app. They also set guidelines for developers, in order to change the way that approval prompts are shown while using the apps. At the time the article was being written, Apple came under fire at that time for not putting in efforts to prevent children from being targeted for in-app purchases.
Later that year, Apple was forced by the Federal Trade Commission to refund at least $32.5m to parents of children who had made purchases in the App store without their knowledge or permission, after the agency said that it had received “at least tens of thousands of complaints” from parents regarding unauthorised purchases. As a part of the agreement, Apple had agreed to change its app purchasing process. Previously, after the password was keyed into the app to approve a purchase, there was a 15-minute window where other purchases could be made without typing the password again.
The security flaw has since been remedied, and Apple now gives user very detailed instructions on how users can set up parental restrictions for when children are using their devices
All in all, I think it's safe to say that platform providers play a crucial role in ensuring that game developers produce better games and children don't end up the target of freemium-purchase bombardment. However, parental controls should also be put into place, and children under a certain age shouldn't be left to use mobile devices for extended periods of time unsupervised.
References:
Holpuch, A. (2014). Apple to pay $32.5m over practice that let children make in-app purchases. [online] the Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/jan/15/apple-practice-children-make-in-app-purchases [Accessed 19 Dec. 2016].
McCarthy, J. (2014). European Commission chastises Apple over misleading 'free' apps. [online] The Drum. Available at: http://www.thedrum.com/news/2014/07/18/european-commission-chastises-apple-over-misleading-free-apps [Accessed 19 Dec. 2016].
West, G. (2014). Google to change the way 'freemium' apps are listed from September. [online] The Drum. Available at: http://www.thedrum.com/news/2014/07/20/google-change-way-freemium-apps-are-listed-september [Accessed 19 Dec. 2016].
No comments: