Gadgetory

smartphone or tablets and you've encountered what's called an in-app purchase everyone expects an app to be free and so developers are left trying to make money within the apps themselves and by selling things like you know leveling up within a game extra coins extra power while many kids games in the Apple App Store are free parents can end up paying a lot more for in-app purchases especially when kids buy things without their consent now in a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission Apple has agreed to provide full refunds to parents whose kids made unauthorized purchases Apple will pay out at least thirty two and a half million dollars according to the FTC Apple has received tens of thousands of complaints including one from a parent whose daughter spent $2,600 in the app tap pet hotel in a statement Apple said protecting children has been an app store priority and that quote today's agreement with the FTC extends our existing refund program for in-app purchases which may have been made without a parent's permission in a memo to employees leaked online Apple CEO Tim Cook explained that Apple has already sent emails to 28 million App Store customers and plans to reimburse the 37,000 claims received he said quote the consent decree the FTC proposed does not require us to do anything we weren't already going to do so we decided to accept it rather than take on a long and distracting legal fight aside from talking to your kids parents can take steps to prevent in-app purchases to check your settings to make sure you turn off in-app purchases so that you have to authorize them or you can just make sure that you never ever tell your kids your password Apple must also change its billing practices to make sure it gets Express informed consent before billing a customer for in-app charges in San Francisco I'm simi dass Cena for CBS News