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Technology

‘Uh-oh’: Toddler Playing With Parent’s Smartphone Buys Multiple $100 Apps

Dec. 29, 2011 8:10am Liz Klimas

Parents often let their young children play with their smartphones to pacify and entertain them. But this story from one couple may give parents reason to pay a little more attention as to what those little fingers are pushing.

The Associated Press reports that one 20-month-old’s random finger tapping on the phone almost cost her parents nearly $200. Watch the report:

The little girl from Oklahoma only purchased two apps, but they cost nearly $100 each, which seems expensive for apps. As AP reports, the parents of London Hall didn’t know the apps were bought until they got their bill and their jaws dropped. The charges were removed as a one-time courtesy.

The Hall family has since required that passwords be used to purchase apps on the phone as a preventative measure.

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Comments (54)

Scott
Posted on December 29, 2011 at 4:44pm
They probably bought the apps and didn’t like them,
so they decided to blame it on the poor baby.

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thegreatcarnac
Posted on December 29, 2011 at 3:14pm
A friend of mine’s 3 year old was playing with his phone and called 911. He was surprised when a police car showed up at his house. They told him maybe his child should not play with his phone or next time it may cost him a fine.

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lynda1276
Posted on December 29, 2011 at 1:49pm
if you parents can afford a phone, spend a few more bucks and buy a TOY for your kid!

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Variable
Posted on December 29, 2011 at 1:39pm
This is too weird. First if you purchase an App from the iTunes store they do not send you a bill, it comes out of any credits you have in your account. If there is no money in your iTunes account you can not purchase it. My iPhone, not sure about yours, makes me put in my password whenever I try to purchase an App. I did not have to set anything for this it was this way out of the box. Something does not smell right about this claim. I wonder what the apps were.

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- rowdygirl
  Posted on December 29, 2011 at 2:23pm
  I was thinking the same thing. I always have to enter my password.
  
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- hhall11
  Posted on December 29, 2011 at 4:18pm
  I am actually this little girl’s mother and I just want to clarify. We already had ALL our devices password protected. The news was incorrect. What we had not done was to push one small button in the settings to turn off the “in-app” feature. It is not correct to say you have to have an “account” with ITunes and once the money it is gone you can’t download. We have our credit card linked to the account and have to enter our Apple ID any time we download an app. This is where this news story has spun out of control. She did not download an actual app like games, etc. What she did was download “star coins” in a game that she had clicked on and each of them were $99.99 each. THERE WAS NO APPLE ID NEEDED TO DO THIS!!! All she had to do was to push a “confirm” button. We are not as ignorant as the media made us sound and we are very interactive with our children. We just let her push buttons (or used to!) on the phone as she loves looking at the colors, etc. We didn’t realize in doing this she could get these in-apps confirmed with no password. This was the only reason we agreed to go on the news to let other parents know this is possible. I am shocked to see so many people still think you have to have an Apple ID to download anything and say because they think this this whole story must be false. Most people I have talked to since this happened had no idea there is a feature to turn the in-apps off! This is the reason why we wanted others to know.
  
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- JustPeachy
  Posted on December 29, 2011 at 4:53pm
  @HHHall, thank you for the clarifications. Welcome to the world of the media and how it gets things wrong and/or twists facts. Been there, done that. I doubt seriously I’d give ANY story at ANY time to the media unless it was done by a person and/or network I absolutely trusted. And there are very FEW of those!
  
  Your daughter is adorable! :-)
  
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- JacoMingus
  Posted on December 30, 2011 at 9:37am
  At least you got your money back. iTunes wouldn’t refund it and the credit card company wouldn’t help us out either.
  
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cyclops
Posted on December 29, 2011 at 1:39pm
This is on a different problem but to justify checking the little ones with their tech savy taste activity. A good friend of mine received a phone call from his ISP getting asked about how he had managed to hack into the system. My friend was totally suprised about the whole thing and denied ever doing such a thing. The ISP rep then asked my friend if he had any teens living in the house. Of course my friend has a teenage son and he confronted him about it. The son said that he didn’t know that what he was doing was hacking. He thought he was just trying new things online, goofing around with his programing hobby…………………LOL!!!!! He was seriously reprimanded by his parents and a wireless router was taken off the home computer system…….Never under estimate the brightness of kids these days……Gotta go….I need to call my niece to explain to me what apps do I need for my IPAD…..LOL!!!!!

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- drlax15m
  Posted on December 29, 2011 at 2:05pm
  reprimanded for acquiring a useful skill that the parents obviously do not understand? ::sigh::
  
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- cyclops
  Posted on December 29, 2011 at 2:24pm
  I see your and understand your point here and I will tell you………I always respect hackers who are out there testing out systems to improve IT Security but then on the other hand, I think the parents were just trying to make sure that their boy starts off on the right foot in pursuing his passion for IT because he was overly bright with computer programing and I know him long enough to say that he was just a curious boy who was trying new things with his IT skills and will do very well in the future in college when that time comes…..I have no doubt about that
  
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Diomasach
Posted on December 29, 2011 at 1:16pm
Toddler Lock – it’s a free app that lets the kid play with the smartphone all they want. It makes noises and lets them draw and make shapes on the screen but they can’t make phone calls or hurt anything.
My kid loves it.

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theplumber
Posted on December 29, 2011 at 12:32pm
Sounds like a ploy by the parents to not want to pay a bill they incurred. Use the baby as a defense when you call your credit card company and dispute the charges. They ask…”Did you authorize the charges?” and when you say no they dispute it with the business and you don’t pay. I am calling B.S. on this family. Jerks.

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thekuligs
Posted on December 29, 2011 at 12:00pm
Lazy parenting. This is a baby, not a child that could possible use the phone. Kid starts to cry because they are tired/bored/thirsty and parents let kid have their expensive toy to extend their peace instead of dealing with the issue.

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4X4in
Posted on December 29, 2011 at 10:28am
What app costs $100….

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- scuba13
  Posted on December 29, 2011 at 11:31am
  What idiot lets a toddler play with a smartphone?
  
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- JacoMingus
  Posted on December 29, 2011 at 11:41am
  Our issue was the in-game upgrades. Those were going for 40 to 50 bucks apiece.
  
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- Ruler4You
  Posted on December 29, 2011 at 11:54am
  For those out there, and apparently there are a few still, who haven’t figured out that Americans having been trained now as Pavlov’s dogs concerning commerce and insane spending habits, technology has taken a surreal turn into the realm of the TV.
  
  Yes, the TV. A tool specifically for the purpose of conveying commerce into your house is now viral and includes the likes of ALL “Smart Phones,” iPads, Computers and some cars. Each and EVERY device is a tool designed ONLY to urge you to BUY something. Any thing. It’s (technology) a portal for commercialism, and little more.
  
  Oh, technology was going to make life so much easier. Things could be done faster more efficiently, with greater accuracy, easing the time strapped persons life by implementing technology into those previously time consuming tasks.
  
  Well, guess what? We still don’t have technology doing any of that stuff on a regular basis. And the direction of technology isn’t going in that direction, either. It’s going toward getting into your wallet with greater ease. Commercials on your phone as you sit at home or walk buy a display. And your “purchase” history is being tracked and makes you vulnerable to more advertising.
  
  Technology, IMHBLO, is a lot like the socialist politicians of the democratic left (and more and more the GOP as well) it tells you one thing and does another. Lies are not just part of business, they are fundamental to it. Get used to it.
  
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- 1me2ao
  Posted on December 29, 2011 at 12:02pm
  damn near every person who has a toddler and a smartphone.
  
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- drattastic
  Posted on December 29, 2011 at 12:16pm
  No baby is slobbering on my phone .
  
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- hhall11
  Posted on December 29, 2011 at 4:21pm
  Star Coins with Frisbee Forever. Check it out. No password needed if your in-app feature has not been turned off!
  
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JacoMingus
Posted on December 29, 2011 at 10:03am
This happened to us a few months ago. My kid got a itouch and was getting add-ons to some game he was playing. This bill came up to $500 in 2 days. The account was set up so you didn’t have to enter the password. (Not my idea). We checked with iTunes but they said that we are responsible and had to pay the bill. We didn’t complain, we didn’t blame anyone but ourselves and paid the bill and adjusted the password on the account. So the fact that these people got $200 is lucky. Parents in this country HAVE to start taking responibility for their actions.

Grow up!

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- Andy
  Posted on December 29, 2011 at 10:16am
  Uh-oh, a little sore you didn;t get your money back. I doesn’t hurt to ask.
  
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- Lonescrapper
  Posted on December 29, 2011 at 10:36am
  How about children taking responsibility? What chores are yours doing for the next 6 months to pay this off?
- JacoMingus
  Posted on December 29, 2011 at 11:37am
  We did ask, but they said we had to pay it anyway. I’m a little sore but it’s our fault we left the account the way it was.
  
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- JacoMingus
  Posted on December 29, 2011 at 11:39am
  He had some money saved from his chores and he is working it off. We did explain to him what happened.
  
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- JacoMingus
  Posted on December 29, 2011 at 11:40am
  Oh yeah, he’s nine btw.
  
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Gonzo
Posted on December 29, 2011 at 9:50am
I bought my wife an Iphone for Christmas…now she’s an addict. Is there a smartphone anonymous?
Step One: We admitted we were powerless over apple – that our lives had become unmanageable.
Keep coming back!

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SergeantMajor
Posted on December 29, 2011 at 9:30am
I don’t have a problem with the kids messing with smartphones – it’s my wife I have to worry about :/

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idarusskie
Posted on December 29, 2011 at 9:21am
I had my 2 year daughter up my bid on ebay one time. I had it set up to bid and all she had to do was hit enter. I went away and she was trying to type. She was bidding against myself. cost me an extra 50 bucks.

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Choctaw25
Posted on December 29, 2011 at 9:18am
You reap what you sow; If any parent is so **** ugly stupid to allow their child of any age to play with a smartphone, they deserve to have to pay the piper for their stupidity.
It is not an object of child entertainment, it is a smartphone.
Yes, I have children and grandchildren, but I allow them to play with child toys. I was a responsible parent and now I am a responsible grandparent.
It’s called being a parent.

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- MOLLYPITCHER
  Posted on December 29, 2011 at 9:34am
  Why would anyone let their kids play with a cell phone in the first place?
  I saw a relative letting their 2 year old child play with one Christmas day. Actually, they give it to him with a movie on it when they want him to stay put. I think it’s stupid, and a good way to turn their kid stupid. They use it to make their kid sit quiet in a restaurant, and anytime they want a nanny. Very disappointed in these people who know better.
  
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- Andy
  Posted on December 29, 2011 at 10:18am
  lighten up will you!
  
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SpankDaMonkey
Posted on December 29, 2011 at 9:11am
.
I’m gonna have to call B.S. on this one………….

How did the 20 month old know the password? Can’t buy an App without it…………

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- Just A Private
  Posted on December 29, 2011 at 9:25am
  From the article….last line “The Hall family has since required that passwords be used to purchase apps on the phone as a preventative measure.”
  
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- hhall11
  Posted on December 29, 2011 at 4:30pm
  This was not an app. It was Star Coins in Frisbee Forever. No password needed if your in-app feature isn’t turned OFF.
  
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drybackinpi
Posted on December 29, 2011 at 9:11am
You have to be smarter than the phone.

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CREN
Posted on December 29, 2011 at 9:04am
The E-Trade baby strikes again!

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InversionTheory
Posted on December 29, 2011 at 9:03am
“Mom and Dad….Why don’t I get an allowance like all my friends?”

“You’re still working off your smartphone app debt.”

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noland
Posted on December 29, 2011 at 8:49am
Perfect, sounds like an all American parent to me.

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PPMStudios
Posted on December 29, 2011 at 8:39am
Yeah right. And the dog ate my homework too…..

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SREGN
Posted on December 29, 2011 at 8:37am
Smart phone, dumb parents.

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GeneTracy
Posted on December 29, 2011 at 8:36am
The parents apparently weren’t very smart not to have password security on their smartphone to begin with.If parents continue to use smartphones,ipads,etc.for pacifiers,this sort of thing will continue to be a problem.

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Rational Man
Posted on December 29, 2011 at 8:36am
When my daughter was 20yrs old, she would do the same type of stuff when dad was paying the bill.

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Gorp
Posted on December 29, 2011 at 8:33am
All I can say is, “DUH”

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Beeree
Posted on December 29, 2011 at 8:30am
Brilliant!

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