After numerous parents complained about Apple's application purchasing system made it too easy for kids to rack up charges, Apple's new 4.3 iOS update may protect parents from those unauthorized costs.
Apple will now require a password when purchases are made within an application after it is downloaded, Apple said in a statement. Previously, 15 minutes after an app was downloaded anyone -- including children buying hundreds of dollars of games or virtual goods on iTunes -- could make a purchase without a password. At least one game, Smurfs Village, has $99 barrels for snowflakes and Smurfberries.
“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," Apple spokeswoman Trudy Muller told the Washington Post.
Another way to save oneself the stress of children making unauthorized purchases is to closely monitor their mobile phone use, limit game time and only allow adults to download applications.
