Apple Now Letting Developers Know When Customers Request In-App Refunds to Prevent Scams

Apple is introducing a new in-app purchase server notification system that lets developers know when a customer requests and receives a refund for an in-app purchase, allowing the developer to take an appropriate action, such as revoking the purchased item.

inapppurchaserefund
Developers are not involved in Apple's refund process, which is handled by the company. Prior to now, when a user requested and received a refund for an in-app purchase, developers were not notified about the refund, leading to situations where customers could get a refund for a purchase and keep the in-app purchase.

It also caused issues with customer support as there was no clear communication between Apple and the developer in respect to in-app purchases.

In iOS 14, when a customer receives a refund for an in-app purchase, developers will receive a server notification and updated receipts with canceled transactions. From there, the developer can alert the customer about the refund and take the appropriate steps to remove the content.

Apple says that these changes will give developers more control over customer interactions, making gameplay more fair for all players and protecting the app's economy. Apple believes the notification system will also make it clear to players who have used refunds in this way that there are repercussions for refunds and that items won't be able to be kept.

Apple's refund notification system is live for developers as of today, and more details can be found in Apple's "What's new with in-app purchases" session that's available on the Apple Developer website.

Related Forum: iOS 14

Popular Stories

AirPods Pro 3 Mock Feature

AirPods Pro 3 Just Months Away – Here's What We Know

Friday April 18, 2025 5:16 am PDT by
Despite being more than two years old, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 still dominate the premium wireless‑earbud space, thanks to a potent mix of top‑tier audio, class‑leading noise cancellation, and Apple's habit of delivering major new features through software updates. With AirPods Pro 3 widely expected to arrive in 2025, prospective buyers now face a familiar dilemma: snap up the proven...
iphone 16 pro models 1

17 Reasons to Wait for the iPhone 17

Thursday April 17, 2025 4:12 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models simultaneously, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup. If you skipped the iPhone...
Beyond iPhone 13 Better Triad

Apple's 20th Anniversary iPhone May Finally Go All Screen

Tuesday April 15, 2025 6:31 am PDT by
Apple is preparing a "bold" new iPhone Pro model for the iPhone's 20th anniversary in 2027, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. As part of what's being described as a "major shake-up," Apple is said to be developing a design that makes more extensive use of glass – and this could point directly to the display itself. Here's the case for Apple releasing a truly all-screen iPhone with no...
maxresdefault

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 12 New Features

Sunday April 13, 2025 7:52 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of April 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and ...
CarPlay Hero

Apple Releases Wireless CarPlay Fix

Wednesday April 16, 2025 11:28 am PDT by
If you have been experiencing issues with wireless CarPlay in your vehicle lately, it was likely due to a software bug that has now been fixed. Apple released iOS 18.4.1 today, and the update's release notes say it "addresses a rare issue that prevents wireless CarPlay connection in certain vehicles." If wireless CarPlay was acting up for you, updating your iPhone to iOS 18.4.1 should...
top stories 2025 04 19

Top Stories: iPhone 17 Pro Rumors, CarPlay Bug Fix, and More

Saturday April 19, 2025 6:00 am PDT by
This week saw rumor updates on the iPhone 17 Pro and next-generation Vision Pro, while a minor iOS 18.4.1 update delivered not just security fixes but also a fix for some CarPlay issues. We also looked ahead at what else is in Apple's pipeline for the rest of 2025 and even the 20th-anniversary iPhone coming in 2027, so read on below for all the details on these stories and more! iPhone 17 ...
iOS 18

iOS 18.5 Includes Only a Few Changes So Far

Monday April 21, 2025 11:00 am PDT by
Apple seeded the third beta of iOS 18.5 to developers today, and so far the software update includes only a few minor changes. The changes are in the Mail and Settings apps. In the Mail app, you can now easily turn off contact photos directly within the app, by tapping on the circle with three dots in the top-right corner. In the Settings app, AppleCare+ coverage information is more...

Top Rated Comments

yossi Avatar
63 months ago
Why was this never automatic? If you ask for a refund for an app, the app should automatically be disabled.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
macduke Avatar
63 months ago
The real scam is all these apps that obfuscate the amount of money being spent through things like gems, coins, space bucks, etc. There should be a hard limit on how much money can be thrown at an app in a given time period. I do not believe it is morally ethical to use psychological tricks to addict people with lower intelligence or addictive personalities into giving you thousands of dollars per year for a stupid little game that delivers nothing of substantial value and keeps poor people poor. These are essentially digital drugs and it upsets me that Apple not only lets this slide, but seems to actively encourage it. This is one of those things we're going to look back on in 20 years and wonder how it was even legal.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
apachie2k Avatar
63 months ago

The real scam is all these apps that obfuscate the amount of money being spent through things like gems, coins, space bucks, etc. There should be a hard limit on how much money can be thrown at an app in a given time period. I do not believe it is morally ethical to use psychological tricks to addict people with lower intelligence or addictive personalities into giving you thousands of dollars per year for a stupid little game that delivers nothing of substantial value and keeps poor people poor. These are essentially digital drugs and it upsets me that Apple not only lets this slide, but seems to actively encourage it. This is one of those things we're going to look back on in 20 years and wonder how it was even legal.
completely agree - micro-transactions made things worse because of greed
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mariusignorello Avatar
63 months ago

The real scam is all these apps that obfuscate the amount of money being spent through things like gems, coins, space bucks, etc. There should be a hard limit on how much money can be thrown at an app in a given time period. I do not believe it is morally ethical to use psychological tricks to addict people with lower intelligence or addictive personalities into giving you thousands of dollars per year for a stupid little game that delivers nothing of substantial value and keeps poor people poor. These are essentially digital drugs and it upsets me that Apple not only lets this slide, but seems to actively encourage it. This is one of those things we're going to look back on in 20 years and wonder how it was even legal.
That’s like limiting how much you can spend at Target. Adults need to be adults and learn self control.

Also, Apple does not “let it slide” because I’m willing to bet the majority of users purchase very little if at all.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
PutTheFBackIn Avatar
63 months ago
I’m actually surprised this wasn’t already a thing. I imagine a lot of people had been taking advantage of it.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
unplugme71 Avatar
63 months ago

The real scam is all these apps that obfuscate the amount of money being spent through things like gems, coins, space bucks, etc. There should be a hard limit on how much money can be thrown at an app in a given time period. I do not believe it is morally ethical to use psychological tricks to addict people with lower intelligence or addictive personalities into giving you thousands of dollars per year for a stupid little game that delivers nothing of substantial value and keeps poor people poor. These are essentially digital drugs and it upsets me that Apple not only lets this slide, but seems to actively encourage it. This is one of those things we're going to look back on in 20 years and wonder how it was even legal.
Like the $99.00 for 10,000 gems And you can burn through it in 10 minutes and only gain 2% gameplay? Yeah it’s ********.

I would gladly buy a free game for $9.99 to get unlimited gems but only generate x per day.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)