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

Apple Logo Spotlight

Apple Expected to Unveil Five All-New Products This Year

Wednesday January 21, 2026 10:54 am PST by
In addition to updating many of its existing products, Apple is expected to unveil five all-new products this year, including a smart home hub, a Face ID doorbell, a MacBook with an A18 Pro chip, a foldable iPhone, and augmented reality glasses. Below, we have recapped rumored features for each product. Smart Home Hub Apple home hub (concept) Apple's long-rumored smart home hub should...
airpods pro 3 purple

New, Higher End AirPods Pro Coming This Year

Tuesday January 20, 2026 9:05 am PST by
Apple is planning to debut a high-end secondary version of AirPods Pro 3 this year, sitting in the lineup alongside the current model, reports suggest. Back in September 2025, supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported that Apple is planning to introduce a successor to the AirPods Pro 3 in 2026. This would be somewhat unusual since Apple normally waits around three years to make major...
airtag prime day 2

Apple Developing AirTag-Sized AI Pin With Dual Cameras

Wednesday January 21, 2026 12:31 pm PST by
Apple is working on a small, wearable AI pin equipped with multiple cameras, a speaker, and microphones, reports The Information. If it actually launches, the AI pin will likely run the new Siri chatbot that Apple plans to unveil in iOS 27. The pin is said to be similar in size to an AirTag, with a thin, flat, circular disc shape. It has an aluminum and glass shell, and two cameras at the...
smaller dynamic island iphone 18 pro Filip Vabrous%CC%8Cek

iPhone 18 Pro Leak: Smaller Dynamic Island, No Top-Left Camera Cutout

Tuesday January 20, 2026 2:34 am PST by
Over the last few months, rumors around the iPhone 18 Pro's front-panel design have been conflicted, with some supply-chain leaks pointing to under-display Face ID, reports suggesting a top-left hole-punch camera, and debate over whether the familiar Dynamic Island will shrink, shift, or disappear entirely. Today, Weibo-based leaker Instant Digital shared new details that appear to clarify the ...
M5 MacBook Pro

MacBook Pro to Receive Up to Six New Features by Next Year

Thursday January 22, 2026 9:31 am PST by
Apple is expected to release MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips soon, but you might want to pass on them, as bigger changes are around the corner. It has been reported that the MacBook Pro will be receiving a major redesign in late 2026 or in 2027. Six new features have been rumored so far, including an OLED display, touch capabilities, a Dynamic Island, M6 Pro and M6 Max chips...

Top Rated Comments

yossi Avatar
73 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
73 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
73 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
73 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
73 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
73 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)