为化解家长、协调人员和立法者的担忧，苹果公司决定调整付费系统。用户每次购买时均需输入密码，取消此前15分钟的免输入时间，因为某些孩子经常无意间购买了价格昂贵的虚拟商品。苹果希望最新发布的iOS 4.3能够杜绝这种意外购买行为。

此前媒体曾报道过，苹果公司迫于压力不得不处理逐渐增加的意外购买行为，许多孩子无意识地购买了许多虚拟商品。在某些案例中，家长并没有使用现有的iOS家长控制系统来限制孩子的行为。但是公司允许用户输入密码购买或下载程序后15分钟内可不再输入密码购买额外商品，这个功能使得许多家庭付出大量金钱却毫不知情。游戏邦获悉，苹果公司考虑取消15分钟的免输入时间，但似乎这个措施只应用于程序内支付，对App Store的下载支付并无干涉。

苹果公司发言人Trudy Muller告诉《华盛顿邮报》道：“对iOS包含业内领先的家长控制系统，我们感到很骄傲。iOS 4.3需要用户在App Store二次购买时再次输入密码。”

App Store

然而，这项举措是否会让所有人感到满意仍无从知晓。最近联邦贸易委员会(FTC)对国会议员Ed Markey的呼吁做出回应，称将关注苹果内置付费系统，尤其是其向儿童传播和销售应用程序的方式。许多面向幼龄儿童的社交游戏遭到投诉。但是，FTC、Markey和其他关注苹果营销的人似乎觉得仅仅需要用户输入密码并不够。

开发商Recharge Studios呼吁苹果公开其App Store的退款政策和程序，而且已经在应用程序描述中发表声明，告知用户购买某些商品需要支付金钱。游戏邦了解到，包括Capcom在内的许多开发商也在其应用程序上发表类似声明。问题在于，苹果公司是否会将这些声明写入协议中，确保家长和用户知道手机内付费需要动用金钱。还有些人想知道，为何公司允许虚拟商品捆绑销售最高价高达99美元。Recharge Studios已经降低《Dolphin Play》商品的最高价，基于时间的购买限制措施正在研发中。苹果也应当考虑实行类似规则，以减少孩子意外花费大笔资金的可能性。

在这个方面，苹果显得尤为谨慎，公司不想因此影响到程序付费系统，因为这已成为主要收入之一。但是，公司需要考虑到政府对该问题的关注程度。只取消程序内支付的15分钟免输入密码时间而在下载支付中保留该功能，似乎可以恰如其分地表现出其负责任的态度。完全取消该功能可能会激怒某些用户，使程序下载速度受到影响，因为这些人通常一次性购买多款程序。游戏邦认为，最终苹果可能不得不在程序内支付中增加声明和保护措施。但是现在，实行这种慎重举措是为了确保其程序内支付能够继续生存下去。

苹果发言人澄清此次更新的具体内容，并非每次程序内消费都需要输入密码，只是用户首次消费需要输入。如果家长同意孩子的首次程序内消费，15分钟的免输入时间依然有效。更新的目的在于，孩子的首次程序内消费需要经过家长同意。与以往相比，公司在这个方面的责任感有所提高。（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，转载请注明来源：游戏邦）

Apple Adds Additional Password Protection for In-App Purchases

In an apparent attempt to quell concerns from parents, regulators and legislators, Apple has moved to require password entry on every in-app purchase, closing a 15-minute grace period that some children used to inadvertently rack up pricey charges of virtual goods. The latest update to its iOS software 4.3 will now include the requirement, which Apple hopes will add further protections against unwanted purchases.

As we’ve reported before, Apple has been under pressure to address the rising instances of children buying virtual goods in games without realizing they were incurring real payments. In some cases, parents did not make use of existing parental controls in iOS to restrict all in-app purchases. But in some cases, children were able to make inadvertent charges because Apple allowed users who enter a password for a purchase or download to make additional purchases for 15 minutes without re-entering their password. We reported earlier that Apple was considering closing the 15-minute password window, but it appears it’s only been applied to in-app payments, not downloads from the App Store.

“We are proud to have industry-leading parental controls with iOS,” Apple spokeswoman Trudy Muller told the Washington Post. “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.”

Still, it’s unclear if this will satisfy everyone. The FTC recently responded to a call by Congressman Ed Markey and said it would look at Apple’s in-app purchase system, specifically the way it markets and delivers apps to children. Many of the games that have been cited are social games geared toward younger children. The requirement of a password doesn’t appear to address the marketing concerns of the FTC, Markey and others.

Some, like developer Recharge Studios have called upon Apple to publicize its refund policy and process in the App Store and have begun running a warning in App Store descriptions noting that in-app purchases require real money. Other developers like Capcom have also run similar warnings in their apps. The question is, will Apple need to formalize these warnings to ensure it’s informing parents and users about the real-world consequences of in-app payments? Others have also wondered why in-app purchases feature bundles as high at $99 for virtual goods. Recharge Studios has dropped the highest price of its goods in Dolphin Play and is exploring time-based limits on purchases. Apple might consider similar rules to limit the potential for big purchases by children.

Apple is treading carefully here. It doesn’t want to slow down the in-app payment train, which is turning into a major money-maker. But it needs to be mindful of government concerns. It seems to have done just enough to appear to be responsive while making sure the 15-minute window is still preserved for App Store downloads. Closing that window across the board would be a big annoyance to users and could slow down the downloads of apps, which are often bought more than one at a time. I expect Apple may be pushed to eventually add more protections and warnings about in-app payments. But for now, it’s taking measured steps to ensure that in-app payments keeps chugging along.

An Apple spokesperson clarified that the password is not required for every in-app purchase but is necessary the first time someone opens up an app, even if it falls within 15 minutes of a password entry. If a parent agrees to the first purchase within an app, that opens up another 15 minute window. The idea is that requiring a password for the first in-app purchase should ensure that a parent has signed off on the payment. This is not as aggressive as we first reported and puts a little more responsibility back on parents. (Source: Gigaom)