Apple’s Predatory Free Trial | Hacker News Reader

Apple’s Predatory Free Trial

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19 pointssricola17 comments

This might be various things, but “predatory” is not the right term for not allowing the user to benefit from a free promotion when he or she does not want to continue it. They even make clear exactly what will happen, no dark UI pattern involved.

I agree that this is a step back for Apple, we should keep the outrage for things that merit it.

Well said.

I don't get it.

One seems to be a free trial, the other a paid service. Is the complaint that if you cancel your free trial it ends right away instead of running for a year?

They are canceling the trial - the user wants it to end!

The issue here is that Apple has given away an item in the hopes of getting you to subscribe later, but is relying on users making a mistake or forgetting to cancel as opposed to choosing to subscribe. The wording is a bit strong as well, but that's not such a big deal. I would absolutely call this a dark pattern.

I will disagree here, a dark pattern is a design that tricks you into doing something you did not want to do.

You have no evidence to support that most users would not prefer the current arrangement where they don't have to come back and resubscribe upon expiration.

Staying subscribed is most likely the most desired outcome for most users. Hardly a dark pattern just because someone wanted to maximize their free time.

Note what the complaint is, that they lose access to the free product ... kind of ridiculous the more you think about it....

Ok .. but the user cancelled the free trial. Even then, if they didn’t, about a month before the trial ends Apple sends an email (for any subscription, even yearly non-trial renewals). Afterwards, about a week before, they send another reminder. The reality is they’re extremely up front with it all, so perhaps we should put away the pitchforks for once Twitter :).

They're only upfront about it because chargebacks are expensive...

By that logic, people don’t commit murder or steal because prison is undesirable. I’d like to think that there’s other motives than just 50 bucks for chargebacks (which, as far as I know, can be negotiated with payment providers anyway..)

I always thought it was generous when you were allowed to schedule your cancellation of a free trial.

The choice Apple presents a user of a free trial is not predatory, it's just not "very generous". A 1 year trial, though is super generous, even if you can't schedule the cancelation.

I’m late to this, but the real point that should be made is that Apple does not allow this functionality for any developer on the App Store, just themselves. Developers have to respect the free trial period even if the user cancels, but not Apple.

As much as I enjoy Apple products, it’s very clear this is just another example of the privilege they provide themselves compared to third-parties. It doesn’t affect me since I’m not subscribing to any of Apple’s service offerings despite using all Apple products, thus it doesn’t bother me either, but I can see why some might be.

I can try something without an expectation to purchase it. Have you ever tried a sample at a grocery store knowing you won't buy the item, but perhaps down the line you will? That's possible for Apple users too. They were promised a one year trial, not conditional on a purchase.

A free trial is intended for you to decide whether or not to subscribe. If you already know you won’t, it’s not a trial, it’s just free, and arguably signing up like that is not acting in good faith.

Exactly. If you’re telling them that you’ve already made a decision not to convert to a paid user, then your trial evaluation is already complete. If you’d like to string them along until the last minute, that’s your prerogative, but don’t expect them to make it easy for you.

That being said, this “1 year free trial” of Apple TV+ is fairly ludicrous. It’s more like a public beta because they know that the service doesn’t yet have enough content to justify its cost, and the promo users are helping them create the perception of a popular service.

How does trial cancelling interface look for other apps? The one from the twitter post looks like cancelling of the paid subscription

I just set a reminder for +1 year minus 2 days in my calendar and live happily knowing I'll be notified when the time is right.

Yeah, I wanted to comment "Hey Siri, remind me to cancel Apple TV plus on October 31st, 2020".

I wonder when they'll turn Siri to an agent trying to upsell/keep you. Fast forward to the above date:

"This is your reminder to cancel Apple TV plus. But you'll be missing Season 2 of The Morning Show, airing in 4 days. I can offer you a subscription for half price, do we have a deal?"

This is not predatory or a dark pattern.

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