In a series of YouTube videos shared over the past two weeks, electronics technician and consumer rights advocate Louis Rossman has exposed a controversy in which some Apple Store employees have allegedly signed up customers for auto-renewing subscription trials for Apple One and other services without their informed consent.
Here is how the process works at Apple Stores in the United States:
- A customer visits an Apple Store.
- An employee at the store asks if the customer would like to scan a QR code for a personalized shopping experience ("Connect and Personalize").
- If the customer agrees, the employee can view some of the customer's information on their company-issued device, including which Apple devices they own, which Apple services they are subscribed to, and which Apple subscription offers are available to them based on their recent purchases.
- The employee can proceed to show the customer their available subscription offers, presented with "Agree" and "Decline" buttons on the employee's device. The default payment method associated with the customer's Apple Account is automatically available for subscription sign-ups, so long as it has not expired.
The problem is that some employees allegedly activated these trials without adequately explaining to the customers that they would be automatically charged at a later date, according to tipsters who contacted Rossman. For example, some employees would allegedly rush through the process or were even told to position the trials as "gifts."
Until early last week, Apple was tracking a metric known as the "services attach rate," with a target of 40% for each retail employee at at least some U.S. stores. In other words, employees were encouraged to get at least four out of every 10 customers they assisted with a device purchase to also sign up for at least one subscription.
In some cases, employees allegedly even tapped the "Agree" button themselves without receiving the customer's informed consent, seemingly in an attempt to ensure that their "services attach rate" was as high as possible.
Apple does email customers when a new trial has been activated on their accounts, but unsuspecting customers might not pay attention or realize that the email pertains to a subscription that will automatically renew later.
Metric Removed, Reminder Issued
MacRumors has confirmed that Apple removed the services metric for employees early last week, just days after Rossman's videos were published. However, the official explanation we were given for the metric's removal is that it is less relevant during the holiday season, when customers are often purchasing Apple products as gifts for others.
Later in the week, Apple issued an internal memo to retail employees reminding them of the importance of respecting customer privacy and obtaining consent, including when offering subscription trials and using the "Connect and Personalize" system, but also for things such as Apple Upgrade sign-ups and Genius Bar work authorizations.
The memo was issued ahead of the first weekend of Apple's holiday shopping season, which kicked off on Friday. During the holidays, Apple hires additional employees to help assist with an influx of customers, so the reminder was timely for new staff.
Whether these actions were timed solely around the holiday shopping season or were also influenced by Rossman's videos, we cannot say for sure. In any case, the actions conveniently address some of the concerns highlighted by Rossman.
How to Check Your Subscriptions
On an iPhone, open the Settings app and tap on your name at the top of the screen. Next, tap on "Subscriptions" and you will see a list of any subscriptions that are active on your Apple Account, including trials. You can tap on any individual subscription and tap on the "Cancel Subscription" or "Cancel All Services" button to cancel.
If you wish to dispute a transaction with Apple, go to reportaproblem.apple.com, select the "Request a refund" option, and follow the steps.
As always, regularly review your credit card or bank statements to ensure that you have not been charged for any subscriptions unexpectedly.
