In-App Purchasing

What is In-App Purchasing?

In-app purchasing is about buying services and products from inside of an application installed on a device, be it a smartphone, tablet, or a computer. With in-app purchases, developers get a chance to offer their apps without any cost.

Once a user downloads, then the developer may choose to advertise their upgraded and premium version that includes better features and items. This helps the developer to acquire profit even if the basic app is available for free.

It basically, allows the app owners to upsell app users from within the app instead of through varying marketing platforms and channels. For instance, a game app may allow users to skip a difficult level or get premium features by switching to the paid version.

With this method, the developer aims to make more money from small transactions. Along with that, some developers also try to cover the advertising, development and maintenance cost through these options.

Explaining In-App Purchasing

Application stores, like an Apple Store, iTunes and Google Play, often take a certain percentage from the in-app sale. Furthermore, they enable users to download apps that have in-app purchasing system.

Even before the user can download the app, these stores communicate the availability of this feature in the selected choice of the user. Also, certain apps also have policies that allow users to get a refund in case they didn’t like the paid version.

In-app purchases are basically a part of the freemium model for monetizing the content or app. Consumers purchase through the app and don’t have to visit any third-party platform for the transaction.

In fact, redirecting users to an external website to make the purchase violates the terms and conditions of most of the application stores; thus, preventing them from earning the commission. Although there are no specific guidelines for these purchases, still, certain regulators take utmost interest in this system.

Despite the benefits, the in-app purchasing has acquired a lot of criticism over the period of time. Considering that it is executed through a device, and unauthorized purchases can lead to several security problems.

This could be the case specifically if the password and username used in the app are not strong enough. Or, if the card information gets stored in the app insecurely. However, several apps email a Receipt for the purchase, which can help to avert a fraud purchase.