Google Offers More Control

Google has updated its Play Store with an option that lets you require that a password be entered every time someone wants to buy virtual goods while immersed in a game or other app, according to a report in blog Android Community. Previously, goods could be bought for a full 30 minutes on one password entry (an option that remains available).

Such in-app purchases have caused more than one parent's heart to skip a beat or two. Earlier this week, a New York woman filed a class-action lawsuit against Google over the 30-minute window, charging that the company hadn't made it plain to parents. She was peeved on discovering that her 5-year-old, who'd been playing Marvel Run Jump Smash, had smashed into her bank balance to the tune of nearly $70 by purchasing virtual "crystals."

Some might say she got off lucky, however. An earlier Federal Trade Commission complaint -- against Apple and the 15-minute purchase window it had in effect on its App Store -- revealed that one woman's daughter had spent $2,600 while playing Tap Pet Hotel and that other kids had shelled out more than $500 in the apps Dragon Story and Tiny Zoo Friends.