Apple Sends Email to iTunes Users Offering Refunds for Unauthorized In-App Purchases

app_store_icon_ios_7As a part of its consent decree with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission over in-app purchases in the App Store, Apple today sent out an email to some iTunes users, offering them a chance to obtain a refund by filling out a form through a special link.

Specifically, the email appears to be targeted toward users who have made recent in-app purchases, with Apple stating that unauthorized purchases "made by a minor" are eligible for a refund, with all requests required to be submitted by April 15.

Dear iTunes account owner,

Apple is committed to providing parents and kids with a great experience on the App Store. We review all app content before allowing it on our store, provide a wide range of age-appropriate content, and include parental controls in iOS to make it easy for parents to restrict or disable access to content.

We've heard from some customers that it was too easy for their kids to make in-app purchases. As a result, we've improved controls for parents so they can better manage their children's purchases, or restrict them entirely. Additionally, we are offering refunds in certain cases.

Please follow the steps to submit a refund request:

Find your in-app purchase records. Check your email for iTunes receipts or use a computer to sign in to your iTunes account and view your Purchase History.

Use this link to submit your refund request to Apple.

Provide the requested information and enter "Refund for in-App Purchases made by a minor" in the Details section.

Apple will review your request and contact you via email about your refund status. All refund requests must be submitted no later than April 15, 2015.

According to its agreement signed with the FTC in January, Apple will be required to provide full refunds to parents whose children purchased unauthorized in-app items, totaling $32 million in refunds. Apple also added a pop-up warning message in iOS 7.1 detailing a 15-minute window which allows users to make in-app purchases for 15 minutes without reentering a password.

Popular Stories

New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18

20 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18.2

Monday December 16, 2024 8:55 am PST by
Apple released iOS 18.2 in the second week of December, bringing the second round of Apple Intelligence features to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models. This update brings several major advancements to Apple's AI integration, including completely new image generation tools and a range of Visual Intelligence-based enhancements. Apple has added a handful of new non-AI related feature controls as...
iphone 16 apple intelligence

Apple Drops Plans for iPhone Hardware Subscription Service

Wednesday December 18, 2024 11:39 am PST by
Apple is no longer planning to launch a hardware subscription service that would let customers "subscribe" to get a new iPhone each year, reports Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Gurman first shared rumors about Apple's work on a hardware subscription service back in 2022, and at the time, he said that Apple wanted to develop a simple system that would allow customers to pay a monthly fee to gain...
iPhone 17 Pro Dual Tone Feature 1

iPhone 17 Pro Rumored to Stick With 'Triangular' Camera Design

Wednesday December 18, 2024 2:36 am PST by
Contrary to recent reports, the iPhone 17 Pro will not feature a horizontal camera layout, according to the leaker known as "Instant Digital." In a new post on Weibo, the leaker said that a source has confirmed that while the appearance of the back of the iPhone 17 Pro has indeed changed, the layout of the three cameras is "still triangular," rather than the "horizontal bar spread on the...
elevation lab airtag battery

Your AirTag's Battery Will Last for Up to 10 Years With Elevation Lab's New TimeCapsule Enclosure

Wednesday December 18, 2024 10:05 am PST by
Elevation Lab today announced the launch of TimeCapsule, an innovative and simple solution for increasing the battery life of Apple's AirTag. Priced at $20, TimeCapsule is an AirTag enclosure that houses two AA batteries that offer 14x more battery capacity than the CR2032 battery that the AirTag runs on. It works by attaching the AirTag's upper housing to the built-in custom contact in the...
apple tv 4k yellow bg feature

New Apple TV Rumored to Launch Next Year With These Features

Tuesday December 17, 2024 9:02 am PST by
The current Apple TV 4K was released more than two years ago, so the streaming device is becoming due for a hardware upgrade soon. Fortunately, it was recently rumored that a new Apple TV will launch at some point next year. Below, we recap rumors about the next-generation Apple TV. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman last week reported that Apple has been working on its own combined Wi-Fi and...
blackmagic vision pro

Blackmagic Debuts $30K 3D Camera for Capturing Video for Vision Pro

Monday December 16, 2024 4:17 pm PST by
Blackmagic today announced that its URSA Cine Immersive camera is now available for pre-order, with deliveries set to start late in the first quarter of 2025. Blackmagic says that this is the world's first commercial camera system designed to capture 3D content for the Vision Pro. The URSA Cine Immersive camera was first introduced in June, but it has not been available for purchase until...
mac pro creativity

Apple Launched the Controversial 'Trashcan' Mac Pro 11 Years Ago Today

Thursday December 19, 2024 7:00 pm PST by
Apple launched the controversial "trashcan" Mac Pro eleven years ago today, introducing one of its most criticized designs that persisted through a period of widespread discontentment with the Mac lineup. The redesign took the Mac Pro in an entirely new direction, spearheaded by a polished aluminum cylindrical design that became unofficially dubbed the "trashcan" in the Mac community. All of ...
iPhone 17 Slim Feature

'iPhone 17 Air' With 'Major' Design Changes and 19-Inch MacBook Detailed in New Report

Sunday December 15, 2024 9:47 am PST by
Apple is planning a series of "major design" and "format changes" for iPhones over the next few years, according to The Wall Street Journal's Aaron Tilley and Yang Jie. The paywalled report published today corroborated the widely-rumored "iPhone 17 Air" with an "ultrathin" design that is thinner than current iPhone models. The report did not mention a specific measurement, but previous...

Top Rated Comments

Renzatic Avatar
140 months ago
Ha! Stupid parents with their terrible parenting skills asking for a free handout from Apple because they're too stupid to know what their stupid kids are doing with their stupid iPads. LOOK AT ME! I'M BEING JUDGMENTAL ON THE INTERNET!
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Renzatic Avatar
140 months ago
you seem...upset.

Would you like a hug?
hold me until the anger goes away!
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Nunyabinez Avatar
140 months ago
Didn't get one because I don't give my expensive equipment to children to use.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ChrisCW11 Avatar
140 months ago
Sad

The problem with all this is not Apple or parents or children, its the "Freemium" model which has corrupted gaming. The idea of getting a free game which is simply made easier by, often, dumping hundreds of dollars into it has ruined gaming in general.

What Apple should do instead of placating parents who have fallen victim to the greedy freemium model is instead to turn against the app developers that are victimizing users with ridiculous schemes to make a game playable through what is essentially extortion.

But Apple is too prideful of their whole "millions and millions of Apps" tag line and so will never do anything to reduce the amount of greedy crapware that has plagued the App store and instead seem to want to protect the freemium model by ensuring that parents and children will fall victim to this scheme over and over again. Whatever millions Apple has to give back to parents pales in comparison to the billions Apple makes every year through in-app transactions.

Say what you will about Microsoft, but Microsoft did not create a market of greedy *******s developing trojan horses with a direct connection to people's credit cards. Hackers may have tried to exploit security holes in Windows to steal your identity or bank information, but Apple simply made this a prominent "feature" of gaming on an iDevice, and I think more people have been exploited by Freemium overall then anything Microsoft was at fault for doing.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
69Mustang Avatar
140 months ago
Kudos to Apple. I couldn't imagine another company even bothering.

Kudos for what? Compliance with the FTC?

from the original post: "According to its agreement signed with the FTC in January, Apple will be required to provide full refunds to parents whose children purchased unauthorized in-app items, totaling $32 million in refunds. Apple also added a pop-up warning message in iOS 7.1 detailing a 15-minute window which allows users to make in-app purchases for 15 minutes without reentering a password. "

You shouldn't mistake this for altruism.;)
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
alohamade Avatar
140 months ago
Did they really write...
'Use this link to submit your refund quest to Apple.'

Refund quest? They need a proofreader.

"Refund quest" doesn't sound like the most fun game in the world, doesn't it? That's a typo, the email is fine and I fixed it now! :)
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)