Home topics news News News Apple allows for iPhone in-app purchases Jessica Stanic October 19, 2009 Apple allows for iPhone in-app purchases Apple has begun allowing businesses to sell content or services through applications given away for free at the iPhone online App Store. Apple announced on Friday that developers would be allowed to perform transactions within free applications offered through the company’s App store. Apple had previously barred suppliers of free iPhone applications from using the programs to sell content. Suppliers of free applications can now entice iPhone or iPod Touch users with free material in the hopes that they may pay for enhanced content once the app has been downloaded. This change means that where developers previously had to create separate free “lite” versions and paid “premium” versions, they can now create just one version of the app, which the user can then pay to update to a premium version. According to the Apple Insider the company sent a note to developers of the change, which read: “In App Purchase is being rapidly adopted by developers in their paid apps. Now you can use In App Purchase in your free apps to sell content, subscriptions, and digital services. “You can also simplify your development by creating a single version of your app that uses In App Purchase to unlock additional functionality, eliminating the need to create Lite versions of your app. Using In App Purchase in your app can also help combat some of the problems of software