OS 4.3 Ushers in Passwords for All In-App Purchases to Protect Children

[Maura]

A report in The Washington Post today highlights one aspect of iOS 4.3 (which was released yesterday), which represents a move on the part of Apple to deal with the recent controversy of children running up huge bills on their parents’ credit cards to make in-app purchases. Capcom’s Smurfs’ Village was one app that was particularly criticised for seemingly making it too easy for children to spend too much on in-app purchases, although Capcom refuted this. As The Washington Post points out, prior to iOS 4.3, there was a 15-minute window after purchasing an app that enabled you to make in-app purchases without being prompted to enter a password. Now, with the release of iOS 4.3, any in-app purchases will always require a password to be entered, no matter whether or not you just entered one a few seconds previously.

“We are proud to have industry-leading parental controls with iOS,” Apple spokeswoman Trudy Muller told The Washington Post. “With iOS 4.3, in addition to a password being required to purchase an app on the App Store, a reentry of your password is now required when making an in-app purchase.”

Source: Post Tech - Apple changes purchases policy to protect kids on iPad, iPhone games