First it was Apple and now Google is facing criticism and potential lawsuits over in-app purchases in the Google Play Store. A case has been filed in New York by a mother who was unhappy after realizing that within 5 minutes of downloading a game (Marvel Run Jump), her five-year-old was able to spend $66 on in-app purchases.
It now appears as though Google and its mobile OS, Android, are just as bad when it comes to allowing in-app purchases.
In the case of Google and its mobile app store, users must enter a password to initially download an application but if an in-app purchase is then made within 30 minutes, the password does not need to be re-entered.
This was the case for the New York mother who allowed her son to download a game but quickly realized that his purchase of “crystals” inside of the app cost her a good amount of money.
Google has unfairly profited by marketing free or low-cost games to children and by permitting them to easily rack up charges for worthless in-game currency, by failing to incorporate reasonable controls such has requiring the entry of a password. – Berger & Montague, law firm, representing New York parents
While this is definitely an issue now that younger children are using tablets and smartphones on a consistent basis, it seems unlikely that Google thought things out in order to make extra money in this way. Instead, much like Apple tried to do, Google came up with a policy that prevented customers from having to re-enter their password numerous times in a short time span. Unfortunately, when you are dealing with a five-year-old and not an adult who knows what they are doing, things like this can happen.
Summary: Google is facing a lawsuit in New York after a young child racked up a $66 bill for in-app purchases. Apple dealt with a similar issue by issuing $32.5m in refunds to its customers.
Image Credit: digitaltrends