in-app purchase

Also found in: Dictionary, Thesaurus, Legal, Acronyms.

in-app purchase

Making a purchase from within an application after it is installed and running rather than going directly to the online app store. Typically found in mobile apps, an in-app purchase is made to add enhancements or extend a subscription.

Concerns with Gaming Add-Ons
In the case of game apps, in-app purchases add extras such as more currency, clues or battlefield armaments. Starting in 2013, regulators in the U.S. and European Union (EU) began to crack down on this method, claiming children have spent inordinate sums making in-app purchases without their parents' knowledge. In 2014, EU Consumer Protection Cooperation (CPC) officials declared that if a game is advertised as free, it must be playable in a reasonably normal manner without further requiring in-app transactions. See online app store and gaming.

Mentioned in ?

References in periodicals archive ?

In its initial lawsuit, the FTC noted that in-app purchases have been an area of concern for Amazon since 2011, when the company noted in an internal communication that they were "clearly causing problems for a large percentage of our customers.

Judge refuses to throw out FTC's in-app purchases suit against Amazon

129 for making in-app purchases such as emoticons, games, stickers and virtual currency among others.

Indians willing to pay over Rs. 71 on in-app purchases: InMobi study

After all, if Microsoft had to take a cue from Amazon on how to bypass the in-app purchase mechanism, why were the users put through all this trouble?

The pettiness is over; Microsoft SkyDrive is now back on Apple App Store

Latest reports suggest that consumers can now subscribe monthly for Office 365 Personal and Office 365 Home through in-app purchase, according to Office blogs.

Office Apps For iPads Now Supports Monthly Subscription

50 as an in-App purchase on iPhone or iPad and pounds 8 as a download to a TomTom personal navigation device.

Sat navs have the fun factor; STEVE HUGHES with the best of the week's motoring news

Microsoft supports flexible business models, giving developers the choice of using Microsoft's transaction service, or using their own, with Microsoft not partaking of in-app purchase revenue.

Windows Store gets previewed, ahead of February launch

Users can, however, be bugged with in-app ads which can be eliminated with the help of an in-app purchase.

Top 5 Addictive Strategic Android Gaming Apps for Smartphones and Tablets

TomTom Speed Cameras Available as an in-app purchase.

Germany : TomTom previews navigation application for Android

Users of the TomTom iPhone and iPad apps can obtain the voices via in-app purchase.