Apple warns about IAP

Apple has added warnings about the presence of in-app purchases (IAP) in app descriptions on the App Store. But will this help parents avoid "unexpected" expenditures in the future?

After numerous scandals and lawsuits concerning issues like "my child spent several thousand dollars in a free game", Apple has taken a step to address these concerns. The company has added a new line to app descriptions. If an app, whether paid or free, includes IAP, its App Store page will now feature the fine print: "Includes in-app purchases".

This measure is intended to protect parents from incidents like the one where five-year-old Danny Kitchen spent £1700 on Zombie & Ninjas. His parents thought he needed the password for accessing a free game, but he was actually making IAPs priced at £69.99 each.

Will an additional line in the app description help inattentive parents? Probably not. Moreover, the issue might not lie in the description itself or in the suggestion that there should be a prominent red sign warning about in-app purchases in the App Store everywhere. The real problem is with parents who, instead of spending time with their children and giving them attention, let them sit in front of a computer or tablet just to keep them from running and jumping around, essentially to avoid being disturbed.