Google Is Forking Over $19 million in In-App Refunds
Three months after reaching a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission over its in-app purchasing policies, Google is starting to hand out refunds — $19 million worth.
The company is reportedly sending out emails to customers who may have been affected by the settlement, which includes just about anyone whose kids made in-app purchases from March 1, 2011, through the middle of last month.
“We understand some parents might have been charged for in-app purchases made by young children who did not have permission to make those purchases,” the emails read. “As a result, we’ve added tools to help parents avoid unauthorized in-app purchases by their young children. We are also offering refunds in certain cases in line with our agreement with the FTC.”
Customers have until Dec. 2, 2015, to apply for a refund.
In-app purchases have been a hot-button issue for the FTC for nearly four years now. The issue first surfaced in early 2011 with the mobile game Smurf’s Village, which made it absurdly easy for young kids to cough up real-world dough for “Smurfberries,” the app’s in-game currency. One 8-year-old, for instance, racked up $1,400 in charges.
Other similar incidents followed, and thousands of parents complained to the FTC, which prompted it to take action.
Apple took a slightly different path from Google, instantly refunding purchases when parents complained about the bills and putting some safeguards in place. The company agreed to FTC-revised rules last year. Amazon, meanwhile, opted to fight the FTC over requested policy changes.
The $19 million Google will be refunding sounds like a big chunk of change, but it’s just a drop in the bucket for the Silicon Valley giant. In the third quarter of this year alone, the company reported revenues of $16.57 billion.
Follow Chris Morris on Twitter.
