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User profile for user: iPotential
iPotential Author
User level: Level 1
34 points

How to prevent an accidental purchase?

Be careful of accidentally purchasing an App!

I entered my password for one App and then while browsing the store I accidentally clicked on one of the "BUY" buttons and the App just started to download!

I've sent a request to Apple to have it removed from my order, however does anyone know how to force the store to ask for a password for every purchase?

Do I need to log out and then back in after each purchase? Will that even work?

Mac OS X (10.6.4)

Posted on Jan 7, 2011 4:04 AM

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46 replies
User profile for user: cdgcdn
cdgcdn
User level: Level 1
5 points

Jan 7, 2011 4:29 AM in response to iPotential

Close the App Store after every purchase to force it to request your password the next time you click the Buy button... if you want to remove your credit card altogether you currently need to do that in the iTunes Accounts settings and select "none" instead of a credit card for payment types; you can still download free apps.
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User profile for user: iPotential
iPotential Author
User level: Level 1
34 points

Jan 8, 2011 2:49 AM in response to iPotential

UPDATE

Mac App Store Account and Billing have contacted me to let me know that they have flagged my request (ie. to have the order removed) for follow-up, and that this might take up to five business days from the date of purchase.

Also, separately to that I have received an iTunes receipt for the cost of the product, in which case any positive outcome will be a refund, rather than no transaction at all.

While this has put a hold on my intention to purchase any of the Apps I was actually wanting to buy, I am more concerned about the people I had told about the App Store when it was released.
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User profile for user: iPotential
iPotential Author
User level: Level 1
34 points

Jan 14, 2011 4:49 AM in response to etresoft

*Good News:*
I was just informed that in three to five business days, a credit should be posted to my credit card. And that this is a one-time exception, as the iTunes Store Terms and Conditions state that all sales are final.

*POTENTIALLY better news, given that I have used up my one time exception:*
I was also told that "...the iTunes Store provides a warning message that asks if you are sure that you want to buy an item. This warning can be turned off. If you would like to make sure that this warning is on, you can reset the warnings in the iTunes Store by following the instructions in this article: Resetting iTunes Store warnings http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1734"

I emailed back to confirm that after "Resetting iTunes Store warnings" once the Mac Apps Store will never revert to one-click buying (ie. it will always confirm after the BUY button is pressed), but I'm still waiting for the answer...
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User profile for user: Tom in London
Tom in London
User level: Level 4
1,632 points

Jan 14, 2011 5:05 AM in response to iPotential

How to prevent an accidental purchase?

This is a no-brainer.

Just stay away from the App Store. Never go there. Base any purchases on your actual needs, not on whimsical browsing. These purchases will probably be very rare. Once, twice a year maybe.

Apple and everyone else are trying to put us into mode of constantly buying stuff all the time. Don't do it.
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How to prevent an accidental purchase?

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