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Eleven-year-old Accidentally Downloads $1000 App

Saturday June 5, 2010 11:46 pm PDT by Doctor Q

An eleven-year-old boy in Northern California accidentally downloaded the $999.99 BarMax bar exam preparation application (iTunes link) using an iPod touch. He didn't mean to make the purchase and was surprised when it started to download the 1GB app. His mother was equally shocked, especially after she learned the price and that her son had not been prompted for an iTunes password.

They paused the download and went to an Apple store but were told that the store couldn't help. However, the boy's mother then emailed Apple and received a return phone call telling her that they would receive a full refund.
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appleguy123
22 months ago
What was an 11 year old doing that required this app? I bet pressed download just for the thrill of it and when it started downloading he freaked out.
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Doctor Q
22 months ago
How long after you make a purchase does the App Store remember your password so you don't have to enter it again? I presume that's what happened in this case.
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appleguy123
22 months ago

How long after you make a purchase does the App Store remember your password so you don't have to enter it again? I presume that's what happened in this case.


Apple definitely should give you a warning that you're about to purchase an app more costly than $75. Although this kid obviously only went to the app because of its cost.
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killerrobot
22 months ago

How long after you make a purchase does the App Store remember your password so you don't have to enter it again? I presume that's what happened in this case.


I know there's a "don't prompt me next time" box that pops up in the itunes settings on OS X.
On my iPhone it seems I always have to enter my password for every download - there has to be a setting for that somewhere.
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SnowLeopard2008
22 months ago
You can opt to not enter in a password right? One click shopping cart thing. IDK.
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Chundles
22 months ago
There is a 15 minute window after entering a password for purchase during which you can click "buy" and not be prompted.
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spillproof
22 months ago
What is this kid doing on the computer alone in the first place? Doesn't his parents know about the dangers lurking on the web?! ;)
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arogge
22 months ago
This is like the risk of using the 1-Click Ordering feature at amazon.com.
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markie
22 months ago
1-click orders on Amazon can be changed for an hour or so, and returned officially. I had this happen to me too... I was reading the app description and accidentally swiped against buy. I got a refund, and a warning that Apple was making an exception and to be more careful :(

It soured me to the App Store experience for sure... the lack of any confirmation whatsoever
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cocky jeremy
22 months ago
$1000 worth of a beating he'd get if i were his parent. Luckily for kids, i hate them and would never have one. Ever.
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