In-app purchases, depending on who you ask, are either a fantastic way for developers to monetize their work, or a sleazy way to ruin software purchases as we know them. Critics fall into a number of boats, from those who would simply prefer to pay for an app once and be done with it, to parents whose children have ran up obscene bills through buying unauthorized extras. Especially in the case of that latter example, with lawsuits popping up all over the place and the FTC giving app store practices a very close look, companies like Google are taking steps to reform how in-app purchases work. Today we hear about a new policy Google’s about to implement, requiring app listings to display a range of prices for the in-app purchases they’ll offer.

Right now, Google advises users whether or not apps contain such purchase opportunities at all, but doesn’t mention specific pricing. With this new policy, set to take effect on September 30, all apps will display the price range of in-app purchases they allow users to make, including both one-off buys and recurring subscriptions.

That’s bound to appease nervous parents who might feel better -even with access controls in place- letting Junior play with an app that has a five dollar max in-app purchase, as opposed to one that would potentially let him buy $250 of in-game accessories.

Now we wonder if any devs might feel compelled to change their pricing structure, once these figures start being displayed so publicly.

Source: Google
Via: Android Central