Parents concerned about the nature of apps have some reason to be, and as such have taken their concerns to Apple (News - Alert), who recently brought out a small change to the App Store's setup. Now, users will be able to see at a glance just what ages an app was truly meant for right off the bat, hopefully intercepting issues about app content before they can even get started.

Thanks to the changes in the app store, one of the first things anyone sees when looking to download an app is the age rating. The changes are said to be part of a larger overall initiative to get more transparency into the App Store experience, as well as a response to concerns expressed by parents finding the previous setup somewhat inadequate.

Recently, Apple settled a lawsuit with a group of parents over in-app purchases; the parents in question said it was too easy for their children to spend large sums of money on in-app items, exacerbated by the fact that the kids didn't really understand that they were spending actual money to get those in-game items.

The new initiatives may also be a part of a response to an event that happened earlier this year around the Vine video sharing app, which boasted some objectionable images (which some describe as "hardcore pornography") as part of its operations but still garnered an "Editor's Pick" ranking. Prior to that, Apple had also pulled the 500px photo sharing app over the inclusion of nude photos, which left Apple in a bit of a delicate position as far as why one would be banned and the other got an "Editor's Pick." Additionally, Apple reportedly added a line of text for freemium apps, which offer support for in-app purchases, though the line is said only to be found in the desktop version, not yet in the iOS App Store app.

Some may call it laziness on the part of the users--if it's so easy for kids to spend money without being fully aware, especially when unsupervised, then why are the kids allowed to use the devices in question without supervision in the first place?--but at the same time, there's also a worthwhile point here. Should parents have to personally examine every app that might come up to make sure there isn't surprise unwanted content in the mix? Movies have rating systems, so too do video games and television shows; why shouldn't apps have a similar rating? After all, ratings aren't bans. The content more geared toward adults can still get to adults, uncensored; this is just an easier way for parents to quickly tell if content is appropriate for their children, and that's hard to object to.

A ratings system included in app stores isn't a bad idea at all, and it's one that all users should be glad to see get put in place.