Along with several visual tweaks, CarPlay support, and Touch ID enhancements, iOS 7.1 also brought some changes to the way in-app purchases work. When making an in-app purchase for the first time after updating, users are notified via a pop-up window that additional in-app purchases can be made for 15 minutes without reentering a password.
The message also points to an existing option in the Settings menu that allows users to require a password with every in-app purchase.
First uncovered by AppleInsider, the new message is likely the result of an agreement between Apple and the Federal Trade Commission, which required the company to implement measures to obtain express consent from consumers before billing them for an in-app purchase.
According to the consent decree that was initially signed in January, Apple had until March 31 to make the necessary changes, which may or may not be completed with the inclusion of the new message that requires users to acknowledge the possibility of additional in-app purchases.
While the pop-up is new, Apple has always had a 15-minute purchase window allowing additional in-app purchases to be made without reentering a password, a policy that landed the company in hot water in 2011 after parental complaints about children over-spending in apps sparked the FTC's interest.
Apple made some changes to in-app purchases following the complaints, requiring a separate password entry specifically for in-app purchases, but the company was still forced by the FTC to to provide full refunds to parents whose children purchased unauthorized in-app items.
In addition to implementing the required changes to the App Store, Apple will refund approximately $32 million to parents.
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