If a subscription taken out in an application increases, the user must explicitly accept the increase; this goes through a modal window and a button to touch to confirm consent. In the absence of a green light, the subscription will stop at the next billing. This will change, as has announcement Apple in a communication to developers.
The new system reverses the previous ass over head. The renewal is now automatic in the event of an increase in the price of the subscription. Be careful, Apple places some safeguards. First, local legislation must authorize this practice. de margoulin : we have seen that the United Kingdom has pushed console manufacturers to completely deactivate the automatic renewal of their subscription services, price increase or not.
United Kingdom: the practice of automatic renewal of subscriptions has lead in the wing
In addition, the developer or publisher of the application must meet a few criteria: the increase must not exceed $5 per month and 50% of the subscription price ($50 for an annual subscription and 50% of its price) ; and it’s limited to one price increase per year, no more. Subscriptions whose price increase goes beyond these thresholds will not be renewed automatically, it will be up to the user to accept the increase.
Furthermore, Apple s’engage to notify the user in advance, by email 30 days before the renewal date for monthly and annual subscriptions, or 7 days before a weekly renewal. Then by a notification (7 days before the renewal date) as well as in a message in the application (at the first launch of the app during the information period).
The manufacturer will also communicate with the user on the ways to manage his subscriptions, and if necessary to cancel them. Of course, without changing the price of the subscription, its renewal is tacit and automatic, nothing changes here.
Apple had started testing this novelty some time ago with Disney+, which earned us the information panel above. Perhaps the final version will be rebalanced in favor of the consumer, because we mainly see the big “OK” button and much less the link to manage the subscription.
Apple is testing tacit authorization of subscription price increases
To explain this major change in the way subscription price increases were managed until now, Apple argues that the services offered by the latter could be interrupted involuntarily. The user must then re-subscribe in the application to benefit from it again. It may be a little difficult to see how this solution was worse than the new one, in any case it will be necessary more than ever to closely monitor the messages and notifications from the App Store…
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