Google updates the Play Store app with a significant change, especially for parents worrying about their kids making unexpected in-app purchases, by adding new password authentication option.
Google, the biggest internet company, rolled out an important update to its popular app marketplace, Google Play Store. The update is of most significance to parents who worry their children may accidentally ring up huge bills through in-app purchases. The updated Google Play Store 4.6.16 features an updated user interface and requires a new option to always ask for a password whenever users try to make in-app purchases, up from once per 30 minutes, according to a report from Android Police.
"(W)e now have a new option to always require the account password for purchases, not just once per 30 minutes. If you have kids, you should probably turn this on now," Android Police's Artem Russakovskii said in a blog post.
In addition to set a password for Google Play, the updated version of the app also features a "Never" ask option for users who find it annoying to enter passwords every time buying a new app. Other tweaks, as noted first by Android Police, include the ability to mass install apps, and repositioning the Settings and Help menus along with "My Apps," "My Wishlist" options in the slideout navigation drawer. This makes the Google Play app more aligned with other apps by Google with similar options.
The updated Google Play app also features smaller tweaks such as triggering a self-update action from within the app. Go to settings and select "build version" for the app to check for new updates. The app also brings an additional warning about the in-app purchases within the App Permission list prior to installation.
Google will also show exact count of the "+1" via Google+, instead of showing vague figures.
As for Google's biggest rival, Apple already requires users to enter a password before making an in-app purchase. This was a major setback for Android users, as noting one incident from last week when a mother of a 5-year old son filed a lawsuit against Google after her child spent $66 while playing a game that was free to download on Play Store. This update is definitely recommended for parents to address the pressing problem of unintended in-app purchases.
Android Police also offers an APK file for the updated Google Play app or users could wait it out for Google to push the update to all users.
