Refund defense insights and guides
Product news, deep-dives, and practical guides on App Store refunds, Google Play chargebacks, and recovering subscription revenue.
From August 3, Google Play hands you the chargeback bill, and a way to argue
Chargeback responsibility on Play purchases changes for orders placed after August 3, 2026. Losses Google used to absorb become yours the purchase price less the service fee, plus bank fees. Arriving alongside that cost is a 24-hour window to submit evidence.
Jul 24, 2026 · 5 min read
Every App Store purchase needs an appAccountToken, or your refund defense has nothing to stand on
When a customer requests a refund, Apple sends a CONSUMPTION_REQUEST that never names them. appAccountToken is the UUID linking a purchase to your user. Set it and you can answer with real data; skip it and you're guessing.
Jul 23, 2026 · 5 min read
Refund policy that holds up: deciding what to concede and what to fight
Once your server can answer Apple's consumption requests and Google's chargeback reviews, the reply has to come from a policy, not an instinct. Grant everything and refund farmers learn your name; fight everything and you torch real customers over loose change. Here's the ladder in between.
Jul 22, 2026 · 5 min read
Skip a Google Play acknowledgement call and the sale unwinds itself in three days
A purchase clears, then three days later Google Play refunds and revokes it — no customer, no support agent, just a callback your server never sent. Here's the exact rule, why purchases slip past it, and what each vanished sale really costs.
Jul 21, 2026 · 5 min read
Taking access back after a refund is work neither Apple nor Google does for you
Money moving and access ending are separate events on both stores, and only one happens automatically. Google leaves entitlement removal behind an off by default option; Apple can't touch a consumable already spent. Whatever your server misses keeps running on revenue you no longer have.
Jul 20, 2026 · 5 min read