Apple moves to stop kids racking up iTunes bills

(AP) -- After customers complained that their kids were racking up hundreds of dollars worth of purchases inside iPhone and iPad games, Apple has changed how these purchases are authorized.

The issue was that after a user has entered his or her iTunes password on a device, the device didn't prompt for the password again for 15 minutes. Any purchases, whether in the iTunes store or inside kid-friendly games like "The Smurf's Village," went through.

This meant that parents who handed over their iPhones or iPads to their kids were sometimes shocked by large purchases of "Smurfberries" and other virtual bling.

With the iOS 4.3 software update, spokeswoman Trudy Muller says, Apple devices have one 15-minute password-free timer for the App Store and iTunes, and a separate one for in-app purchase.