Who refunds the customer on an Apple In App Purchase refund

Is a user does not inform the developer BUT goes through Apple to request a refund. Which is weird to say the least as Apple likely will not mediate the use case, seems they ALWAYS favor the buyer and will refund them just based on a refund request.


Two questions.... one, how long before a user can NOT request a refund for a purchased consumable in app purchase? It would seem unfair if Apple allows the party to fully consume the service/product purchased and then get a refund to boot!? Seems highly one sided!!


Two, who foots the bill for the refund? If Apple sides with the user , shouldn't they refund the money while the developer keeps their funds? And if the developer has to swallow the cost how is the developer notified of the refund since the developer was NEVER part of the decision chain for the refund. And does Apple provide back the commission they took on the sale of the goods or service!?

Posted on Sep 20, 2025 2:41 PM

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Sep 20, 2025 3:03 PM in response to sergiofromlinden

  • how long before a user can NOT request a refund for a purchased consumable in app purchase? Not documented. In most cases all transactions in the App Store are final and at times Apple may provide a compassionate refund. There is no information about how many requests will be granted or if Apple is more likely to grant requests from an app where other users have also reported problems and requested a refund.
  • It would seem unfair if Apple allows the party to fully consume the service/product purchased and then get a refund to boot!? Subscriptions refunded are immediately removed and Developers are able to verify valid in-app purchases that have not been refunded right in the app.
  • who foots the bill for the refund? It is the exact same split as the purchase. For example, if the app is in the category of the 70/30 revenue split, then 70% of the refund amount comes from the Developer and 30% comes from Apple.
  • And does Apple provide back the commission they took on the sale of the goods or service!? I think that was covered in the previous question. If the Developer made $1.40 on the sale of a $1.99 purchases, then after a refund, the Developer must give the $1.40 back.
  • And if the developer has to swallow the cost how is the developer notified of the refund since the developer was NEVER part of the decision chain for the refund? They see it on their monthly statements.
  • If Apple sides with the user , shouldn't they refund the money while the developer keeps their funds? No, that would effectively be Apple subsidizing developers for keeping apps in the store that are poor quality or who are not supporting their customers.


If a developer sees a large number of refunds, then they need to pay attention to the reviews in the App Store, make sure proper contact information is available to their users, and review the Crash Logs for the app in Xcode.

Sep 20, 2025 3:43 PM in response to sergiofromlinden

I see that as a +16. Users have found your app, now review any Crash Logs in Xcode to check if there is a problem and also make sure you are not over-selling features on what your app is capable of.


You can also use TestFlight to give codes out to specific testers that allows them to try the app for 30 days and give you feedback. You can also revoke the tester before the 30 days if you want.


There are also many methods to monetize your app and some may work better than others for you. When the App Store first started, the App Download price was the most common method, but that seems to have shifted to free downloads with a Subscription that includes a free trial as being the most popular. Gaming apps still rely primarily on free downloads with In-App Purchases for "game tokens" to increase gameplay and also Ads.

  • App Download
  • In-App Purchase
  • Subscription (with or without a Free Trial)
  • Ads

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Who refunds the customer on an Apple In App Purchase refund

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