Apple will let your subscription apps charge you more money without asking | Hacker News Reader

Apple will let your subscription apps charge you more money without asking

theverge.com

41 pointsfortran7710 comments

That's a shame.

One of the reasons I still bought subscriptions through Apple, even though I don't use it as much as before, was exactly to be shielded from such shady practices. Think newspaper subscriptions and such.

I guess I'll still stick around for the cancelation policies anyway...

Apple gets a cut of the subscription fee. So it's in their interest that prices get hiked and this "feature" is their subtle way of telling subscription services to slowly start hiking the fees.

Well, of course, but it would also be in their interest that unsubscribing is too much of a pain, so I postpone indefinitely. Yet they do provide easy cancellation.

We indians needn't worry and can thank RBI (India's banking and finance regulator) for protecting our consumer rights:

> In accordance with the new rules, merchants like Apple have to set up an e-mandate for customer cards. Customers are also required to use two-factor authentication and set up a fresh e-mandate for recurring payments. The rules also require customers to give their consent each time they need to pay a subsequent payment of above Rs 5,000.

> The RBI’s auto-debit rules had kicked in from October 1, 2021, where it had stipulated that there will be no automatic recurring payment for various services like utility bills, phone recharge, DTH, etc. and additional factor of authentication (AFA) became mandatory.

Source: Apple stops accepting debit, credit cards for payments in India - https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/apple-stops-accepting-...

India is also one of the few countries mandating 2FA for all payments. As a consumer, it's a real boon knowing that no shady merchant or card skimmer can just arbitrarily charge your account. Was pretty spooked to find out how things work elsewhere.

It is difficult to imagine that some apps won't take advantage of this and since Apple takes their cut that cut will only be bigger. Is this sort of thing lawful in the EU?

Judging by other practices I've seen in France, I'd say it's legal, but they have to notify you. That means "let you know", not ask for confirmation.

I've had several times get my mobile phone or internet subscriptions "improved" with some useless extra, like more GB (I barely use what I have) or more TV channels (I don't even own a tv) for the low price or 2-3 €, which is like a 20% increase. They usually take the form of a "free" add-on for three months, and then you have to pay.

They typically message you, and you may cancel that option. But if you don't pay attention, you'll have to pay for it.

Offering Cloud backup that is just a bit too small, due to videos and photos is a smart move by Apple.

Payment for more storage makes sure that subscription apps have an easier time getting paid.

And the high recurring cost of these apps just makes it worse.

An ITunes gift card is a better option, even though it's not as convenient.

I do believe your first two sentences hit the proverbial nail on the head.

> Or, if Apple wanted to be really consumer-friendly, it could make it so subscriptions don’t auto-renew by default.

I don't see why this is called out as consumer friendly. Most people are aware of the difference between a single-time purchase and recurring subscription.

People would get angry pretty quickly when they can't enter their apartment or lose internet or mobile phone service because they didn't click on a button in their bill every single month. Even when mobile phone companies decide to increase rates all the time, that's preferable to completely losing service entirely.

If people specifically wanted this behavior, Apple actually makes it easy to do so - for subscriptions that I only want for a limited time, I subscribe to the service but then immediately cancel it. I get it for a month, but it stops working right at the end of the month period without any additional action from me.

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