In-app & In-game Purchasing Researched

Meetings organised by CMC with the Office of Fair Trading, to help their investigations into concerns about widespread payment of add-on charges in apps and games without parental consent, have led to new insights.  Research and interactive agency, Dubit, based in Leeds, did some research amongst their panels of children and parents, to feed into the OFT process.

Dubit found that only 2% of British kids are making purchases without their parent’s permission. They also found that a surprisingly low number (17%) of children aged six to 12 are allowed by their parents to make in-app purchases at all, and when they do, they rarely exceed $3.20.

The OFT are currently consulting on the issue and will produce a guideline for the industry under the Consumer Protection laws, early next year.