Apple faces threat of legal action over ‘in app’ payments

I haven’t taken the plunge and installed a new iOS app on a whim in quite some time, because so many of them require in-app purchases in order to be useful. Now I carefully read the reviews first.

Among the issues regulators have highlighted is a default setting within Apple’s app store where, after a payment is made, there is a 15-minute window allowing purchases without requiring a password. The company also allows apps to be displayed as “free”, with only smaller wording nearby to indicate “in app purchases”.
By contrast, Google is implementing changes such that users are prompted to choose precisely when passwords need to be entered for in-app purchases. Also, Google has removed the word “free” from all apps that may be free to download but feature in-app payments. These changes appear to have satisfied the regulators’ demands.

Apple said it has already made a number of changes to its app store that deal with the issue. “We made sure any app which enables customers to make in-app purchases is clearly marked,” the company said. —FT.com.