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Android and lawsuits, unfortunately, go hand in hand. For possibly the first time, though, I got to side with the plaintiff. Dodd Harris and Stephen Sabatino are suing Google regarding the 15-minute refund window, stating that it is unfair and often doesn’t leave enough time to demand a refund.
This isn’t the first time the 15-minute window is causing legal problems for Google. If your memory is sharp, you would probably remember that Google was handed a fine from the Taiwanese government that wanted them to provide a 7-day trial period. Google declined, simply choosing not to sell apps in the country.
As stated earlier, I agree with Dodd Harris and Stephen Sabatino on this issue. Fifteen minutes is ridiculously low, especially considering how app sizes are getting larger which means more download time. Some developers do give refunds if you contact them yourselves, but that’s a rare case and the official method needs to be remedied.
In my eyes, there should either be a 12 or a 24 hour period, or some method where developers can set refund windows or its simply proportional to the download size.
What’s your opinion? Are you happy with the 15-minute window, or would you like to see a change, too?
[via Android Police]
12 or 24 hours is way to high, I can easily buy a game, complete it and still have time to get a refund. But I do think 15 min is a bit low, so they should increase it to an hour.
I guess they’re unaware that Apple doesn’t even give a refund window. Those whiny assclowns can suck it. Google should just do what Apple does so they don’t have to keep getting dragged into court by gimps who couldn’t figure out within 15 minutes if they needed those paid hooters wallpapers from someone in China.
When it comes to Apple, if there’s something you don’t like, you need to “Think Different”…. and by “different” they mean conform to what they tell you you need.
Just so everyone knows…
The refund window was recently changed, alongside giving developers the ability to expand their app directly within the Play Store as “expansion packs”. It no longer starts the refund window until the app has fully finished downloading.
The reason why the refund window is so low and why Apple doesn’t give one…
It generates more money by not giving the option for a customer to take their money back. Google wants money as do developers. If you want Google to keep making money and developers to keep making apps, you will leave the refund window alone.
the problem isn’t with those wallpapers, it’s with things like gameloft games that require 500MB extra data only to find out that the game crashes when loading a map.
or with apps that really need more than 15 minutes of testing like navigation, alarm clock, calendar, and sync apps.
this is why i think the refund window should be based on content type.
wallpapers and skins with a 15 minute window are fine(perhaps a little longer for live wallpapers)
but games require at least an hour to set them up and get past the introductions, and some apps need a window of 24-48 hours for proper testing.
So Apple doesn’t give refunds, and that makes 15 minutes OK? No sorry. 15 Minutes is definitely not enough time to truly test and APP out.
I disagree. Rarely if ever in the software dev world can you get a refund on opened/downloaded software.
dude, what?
Very commonly in the software dev world can you get a refund on software. It depends on how you ask, what you’re purchasing, etc. If it’s something that requires a license to run then yes, they’d probably give you said refund.
However, the point is – 15 minutes is atrocious and even a couple hours would be fairly reasonable. How hard is it to at least do that?
why are you shitting up the thread?
I don’t know what planet you’re from but you can RARELY get a refund on open/downloaded software. Go back to lala land and YOU stop shitting up the thread.
I buy everything from costco. You can return ANY software after it has been opened there. I returned windows 7 after installing it on my computer. It didn’t work on my computer so I returned it. OPENED AND USED! I definitely would not call costco a rare store to find. Costco is almost everywhere. So your statement of RARELY get a refund is wrong. I get a refund 100 percent of the time.
Oh, and Costco is located on planet earth. Just an FYI.
I’ve never seen a costco in person before. But you can’t return opened software at staples, bestbuy, office max or most other major retailers. There’s far more bestbuys than costcos around here. Open software return policy at most retailers is tough luck.
A quick google search shows that costco is pretty unique in its software return policy.
Well, Costco requires a yearly membership fee (to get discounts), and your membership card is also required when you buy anything or return anything, so they can much more easily determine if your odd patterns resemble scamming and kick you out. Not worth scamming costco.
At Best Buy, et al, any schmoe can walk in off the street and buy with anonymous cash and return it without ID.
15 minutes is ridiculous, but 12 hours is enough time to beat a lot of games. The best time in my opinion, would be 1-2 hours. That should provide enough time for downloading the app and also enough time to fully test out the app or game.
The problem is that the time is universal. I’d be lucky to download a large Gameloft game in 12 hours (the internet speeds here in India suck). What would be perfect is a some code from the developer side which, when triggered, informs the Market console that the user’s 15 minutes start now.
The timer doesn’t start until the download is completed (due to the new 4GB allowance for downloads in the Play Store).
Does this apply to in-app downloads, or only to large downloads via the Play Store?
Most of the games that require 200-500Mb download do it after the purchase. And you never know from the market of such prerequisite. So, I’m with many about 1 hour window. Or the refund practice should stop altogether, for everyone, not only for “whiny assclowns”, which I think devs will be OK with.
Either do it right, or don’t do it at all.
1 hour is still too low for the big games that download in-app. I’ve got 30Mbit/s internet, but the servers that host the game downloads are SLOW and I usually end up taking about 2 hours to download a 250MB game.
I almost want to say they make the game download slowly so there is no chance of a refund.
Some games have a license it checks for before beginning the game. Maybe they can tie that check with the starting of the refund window…
Hour max, anything beyond that and it will be abused
everything can be abused… if an app has less then an hour content, or no replay value, its not worth it anyways… getting things illigal/free is easy enough anyways, a lot of people will buy the apps they like and gladly pay for them…
I think 15 minutes is okay for most things. Google should leave that as a default, but allow developers to increase it as much as they want for their own apps.
Are people really cranky a out a 15 minute Window… Mind you the apple doesn’t even give you a refund.. I’ve bought apps in the Android market and found them useless within the first couple minutes and get my money which I think is great option.. Well then why isn’t everyone suing apple… People are never satisfied
30mins or 1hr seem good.
research the app before you buy, there are reviews and videos on the apps.. 15mins is Plenty of time! geesh people!
2-3 hours would be ideal i think
I think google should leave it up to the developers. When uploading an app, let them choose between a few times, ranging from 15min, 30 min, 1 hr, 4 hr, 12 hr, or 24 hr.
i think users have the right to a good product, and have a few weeks to demand money back by EU law… i think… i do like to hear that from a more reliable source then my ass
As a developer, I can tell you that every developer will choose the lowest option. I would say none.
I’m a dev. I’d pick 24 hours for my app. My policy is full satisfaction or I refund, even a few months later. I have almost no such returns. I charge a premium price but give good service.
All my returns are within the 15 minute window. I’m sure some are just copying the app. That’s life.
That’s the way to go. By giving 24 hours window we have a better ratio of good aps vs bad aps.
I also don’t want to have to wait in front of my phone for 2-3 hours for the download to finish so I can test within the 15 minutes try period.
I stopped buying aps because I,ve waisted my money the 3 times I did. When Googles gives a 24 hours protection I’ll buy apps again.
If you make a good app(s) and have good CS to go with it…then you have something good and people don’t tend to ask for refunds. I know there are times I have not bought an app due to not knowing if I would have enough time to try it out. I think if you are like Dev feztheforeigner above, it will promote more piracy since people will not want to take that chance on your app with their money.
Spoken like a true foreigner! Everyone is always out to screw you. I’d go with 24 hours also.
I’d say 30 minutes at most if you buy it try it right away and make sure it works. If you can’t use it right away wait and buy it when you have time to use it. Otherwise its your own fault and you do not deserve a refund. I know within a few minutes if it works as it says and on my phone. Can’t think of a time I asked for a refund myself
Sometimes it takes longer than 15 minutes to download that 500+ MB file to play a game.
As I stated above: with the new 4GB file size allowance, the timer will not start until download is completed.
i dont think they mean the download from the market but the install that most gameloft and other large games have on android it may take an extra 15 to 20 minutes just install the game
That just means that the developers haven’t updated their apps to take advantage of the new allowance size.
And who is to say that some developers wont keep using the old method?
66 minutes should be awesome8==>
And let me guess, throw in an additional 6 seconds, just because.
;-)
I remember it in the beginning htc hero days it was a decent amount of time I forget how much but a lot more than 15 min
It was a full 24hrs, which was way too long! I think that 30 minutes would be about right. Anything more than that is asking for abuse. However, I’m happy with 15 minutes. Apple doesn’t give users a return window at all!
The 15 minutes is ridiculously low, hopefully this lawsuit will up it… But, I also think 7 days is ridiculous as well. Even if it was an hour I’d be hsppy… But 15 minutes barely gives you time to start some games.
1 hour is good.
The point isn’t that I’d want to test the app to see if I like it… The point is to make sure the app works correctly on my device. I bought 2 $5 games, both of which lag horribly on my device, but after the secondary down and the restart from the phone freezing, the 15 minute window is over.
Yeah, apple has no window because they KNOW the app will work right on their phone because they only have a couple.
I mean 15 mins is way too short, but as previously stated, something is better than nothing (apple). I must admit I think if it were 30 mins-an hour I could tell if something was really worth it. But a week is way too long, as is a day. I could probably beat a paid game in that amount of time and just get a refund.
It should be 1 hour for small files and 12 hours for medium size files and 1 day for large size files
It should go back to 24 hours.
Why? Because if someone wanted to circumvent the system (even the 15 minute windows now) they could buy app-> backup->refund and then restore their backup.
What it really does is prevent honest people from either refunding a broken app, or prevents them from even wanting to try it because it they don’t have time to try it right then, they might just pass it over.
Luxferro, I do not agree. If someone is dishonest they will be dishonest with a 15 min window or a 24 hour window. If someone likes to steal, they will steal something no matter what the price if they have the option. Why pay for something if I can get it for free, right? Google rules do not influence that. What does influence that is helping people realize what all goes into writing an app. When I was younger I was all about downloading music for free. Usually Limewire. I didn’t care if the song cost $1.49 or $.25, if I could get it for free why pay for it? Then I realized that I was actually stealing from people that spent time money and energy creating it. Once I realized that I started to pay for all my downloaded music no matter what. I still have friends that download illegally and I hate it. I try and encourage everyone to pay for what you download. I switched to a different service for downloading music because it was cheaper. Nothing wrong with that.
Again, people download illegally because they can, not because of a return policy. Some stores have phenomenal return policies but yet they still deal with shoplifters.
I think you kinda missed my point. Limiting the return windows hurts both the customer and the developer. If the limits intention is to prevent people from using and returning apps, it fails. Because if people want to rip off the developer they can just back it up and return it from the start. Or get it from warez sites.
If a customer downloads an app and doesn’t get to test it in that 15 minute window, or doesn’t find a problem until after it, they will be pissed off and write a bad review.
If a customer comes across a review of an app and they think “hey that looks pretty cool, let me download it now so I can try it when I get home from work”. They later try it and they either hate it, or it doesn’t work right for them, then again they are pissed off = bad review.
Lets say you’re one of those customers that felt jipped off cause they couldn’t return an app. Next time you come across something interesting you might not download it then because you don’t have time to check it out at that moment. Later never comes.
For myself, If i come across something that looks interesting, and it’s less then $1 I’ll just download it to play later, or never even mess around with it. To me it’s just a $1, is nothing lost really. But I personally wouldn’t do that with $5+ apps, and chances are if I came across something interesting that was more then a $1, then I wouldn’t download it unless I was sure about it, or I had time to test it out in those 15 minutes. If it wasn’t limited to 15 minutes, I might just download it and test it within the next 24 hours and it’s not such a big deal.
TLDR; If the return windows is limited to 15 minutes, people will pass over apps if they don’t have that immediate 15 minutes after discovering it to try it out thoroughly.
Luxferro, I understand what you are saying but you have to look at it from both view points. I believe most people want to look at it from one view point only, theirs. There is a window which is good. There are reasons why it is set at 15 min even though I could see it set at one hour. I see you made a few assumptions in your response that benefit your argument. Unfortunately you can’t have it both ways. You made the comment that people would want to download the app but don’t because they will wait till later due to the 15 min rule. But as you say, later never comes. Then you gave the example that if the return rule was 24 hours they would download it and check it out later. Well, which one is it? Will later come or not? I thought later never comes? If that is true then it wouldn’t matter if it was a 24 hour period since later never comes. (Or rarely does from what I’m getting out of your response.) Again, I understand your argument allowing people 24 hours. I do not agree with 24 hours, I agree with a one hour window. Besides Apple not having a return policy at all, neither does any software you purchase. If you go to the store, purchase software, take it home, open the package and load it and then it doesn’t work you’re out of luck. If you don’t like it you’re out of luck. But you could tell the store that the software didn’t work on my computer. Not the stores problem that your hardware didn’t work with the software.
Google is bending the general software rule of no returns. You as a consumer need to be more diligent with your research of the app, which the Market(Play) helps with. You even said in your response that if an app costs more than $5+ you wouldn’t download it until you had time to play with it. Exactly!
Again, I support the 15 min rule but I also support a 1 hour rule. 24 hours? No, too long when we’re talking about games and digital items that in one click can easily be refunded. Also, I do not agree with the assumption that later never comes and hence people just forget about the app and never download it. In a world where we have phones/computers that will take voice notes, note taking applications and bookmarks I believe people have been empowered with all the tools to assist them in remembering things. Isn’t that part of what a smartphone does for us? Along those lines I think it would be great to save an app on the market in a list. Kinda like the “Track this” option on ebay. You could have a option where you click a button and it adds the app to a list you can reference later. I come across apps all the time that I don’t download but may want to later. I usually make a note of it in my note application on my homescreen. Doing it in the market would be great. And it would be a great tool for devs, let devs see how many people have their app saved in this list but haven’t pulled the trigger.
When I said later never comes. What I meant is I rarely remember what the app was, since there is no bookmarking feature in the market. If I downloaded it chances are I’d see it later when I was bored playing with my phone.
I’m not saying everyone does the same as me. But my point is that the 15 minute window doesn’t prevent people from stealing apps. It only prevents them from getting a chance to fairly evaluate a purchase. If it’s more the a buck I’m probably not just gonna compulsively buy it without doing some research, or having the time to spend right then and there to check it out.
I’ve bought lots of apps too. Most of them fall in the $1 or less category, cause I just don’t care about a $1 here and there, so I compulsively buy them. If I wanted to steal stuff I would. 15 minute window wouldn’t prevent me. For me it only hinders purchases. Now maybe everyone isn’t like me.
I agree. One thing I wish the market had was a wish list. There are many times I find an app I would like to try, but it costs money (or can be free) and I don’t have the time to see if it would work at the time. I would like to go back and check it out later…
It’s hard to believe that no one in the great state of California uses the Apple Appstore and has ever thought about a refund window. Give people and inch and they want a mile. 15 minutes is enough.
Apps on Apple Appstore usually work, but apps on Android sometimes don’t work right on certain phones. Going with no refund window will be suicidal for Google and Android.
True and it being an open market, but that’s why I think 15 minutes is adequate.
AdriOS6, that’s why there is a 15 min return window. That window is there in case an app does not work properly on your device. It also affords you the ability to refund the app if you do not like it. Apple doesn’t even have a return window, Android at least affords you 15 min to check it out, see if you like it and make sure it runs on your device. Google has addressed the problem with a 15 min window. Google has to answer to Devs and users alike. It’s easy to look at the situation from one point of view. Google has to look at it from both view points. I think a one hour return window would be fine as well. 24 hours is too long. I do not disagree with the 15 min window though. If you do not like it, try writing an app yourself and see how long it takes to write a quality app that people want to purchase.
We’re not talking about alot of money here people. I have purchased apps that I ended up not even using. They were usually around the $.99 price. Some do cost more but I weigh the price with the amount of use I think I will get out of it. I bought a phone for $600, I pay &75+ per month for the service. The $60-$80 I’ve spent on apps over the past two years seems quite small compared to what I have invested in my phone. Of course most of those apps I use regularly. I probably could have used a refund on 5 or 6 of those apps amounting to a whopping $10-12. This is what we’re all complaining about? I understand that those numbers are from my own buying habits but I bet I’m in the norm.
Just my $.02
And remember, Apple doesn’t even have a return policy. Talk about a company that is looking at their app store from one point of view only.
Almost everyone in Cali uses the the apple app store. Keep in mind that most Californians are idiots, they fit perfectly into the isheep crowd.
The Apple products are sold around the world. California isn’t what is keeping Apple afloat. Idiots are everywhere, all over, not just California.
I think it should wither be a 1 or 2 day window.. I think that’s fair enough.
i say no refund window. Ridiculous.
I think 1 hour would be perfect. I think it’s a happy medium for everyone. One answer isn’t going to the perfect solution for 100 percent of the people. 1 hour is long enough to figure out if you like it and short enough to prevent frequent flyers from downloading games to entertain them on that particular flight, then refunding it when they land.
15 minutes is ridiculous.. If games devs are worried about people beating their games that quickly their games obviously aren’t very good.? That said I think “free” games that require in app purchases to play are even worse. Why not make it an hour? Many of these games require additional downloads that take 15 minutes.
I miss 24 hours, but one hour would be wonderful. Even on LTE larger games can take longer than 15 minutes just to download. That’s why I don’t really game on mobile. Except when they mark them down to 49¢ ;).
This is pathetic…you should be grateful you have a refund window, whereas Apple doesn’t even have one…
yea i will never buy an app i tryed once and it said there was an issue with my card but then they still took the money and was never returned
15 minutes is pretty silly. IMHO it should either be No Refund Window or one hour. The no window approach will cause more users to avoid apps they might really like and might (probably?) would work find for them. More than an hour is unnecessary on even the more complicated apps. I purchased the Touchdown app the other day and it took about 30 minutes to get it set up and synchronized with my Exchange server and then a bit longer to verify proper operation. Could not have done it in any less, could have stretched it to an hour if I tried. I’d vote for a one hour window.
I don’t see any reason a 1hr policy couldn’t suffice.
As an android developer, refunds kill profits. I think 15 minutes is plenty of time to determine whether you like the app. If it were 12 hours the user could take advantage and use all the features. With that much time the user could nearly beat an entire game. 15 minutes is already extremely generous.
If someone intentions were to rip you off, then they would do it in that 15 minutes as well. I can download any app, and back it up and refund it in those 15 minutes, just the same as I could do if the window was 24 hours like it used to be.
All the 15 minute windows does is make people weary about spending money now, or later (if they are too busy to check out the app then). And a lot of times later never comes.
developers who appose anything greater then 15 minutes don’t seem to get the point of view of customers. I understand your point of view, you don’t want people ripping you off.. but if i wanted to rip you off I can do it in 15 minutes as well.
Luxferro is right. The malicious users will always have a way of using your app without paying for it. A 15 minute window still allows them to download it, back it up, and then refund.
If they chose to remove any refund window, then I’d simply not purchase apps anymore.
If your app has one feature that takes 2 minutes to use, maybe you should make the app free and ad supported.
15-minutes IS pretty ridiculous. I don’t immediately open apps after downloading them (free or paid). I’m sure Google is banking on this.
Does anyone know Amazon Appstore’s return period? I’ve never looked. I don’t purchase many apps.
Has anyone ever “scammd” Google Market with titanium backup during those 15-minutes? It works, but only for apps that don’t perform a license check. Maybe this is their concern, and hope people exit that time frame before they have time to scam?
Raveesh, by now you should have gotten used to the fact that American companies generally don’t give a sh!t about markets outside of US. If they have fiber optic cable at their homes, they usually think it applies to the whole world.
This is the type of policy that help contribute to people downloading pirated apps. If the policy for a refund was longer, people can try the app out completely, I would go as far as 3 days. some apps don’t show there true color until it is used in everyday life.
What’s wrong with increasing it to 30 mins or 1 hour at the very most? It will never take you 30 mins to download an app over wifi.
This is pathetic! To all you whiners, tough cookies! The refund policy hurts developers too! You should be grateful you have a refund window unlike Apple!
I hope your not a dev, cause with your attitude you probably don’t make much money. There are many good points of view from CUSTOMERS (you know the people who give you their money). If we wanted to rip you off we would. It’s easy, regardless of the refund window.
Most apps are $1~$5…. Most people spend more than that on crappy Starbucks coffee in a day. I would rather see developers releasing trial versions of their software to test and no refunds at all….all though saying that I have used the refund policy before. Or maybe they can determine 15 min from complete download.
As a dev as well as a frequent buyer, 15 minutes is disgustingly too short a time. Even 1 hour isn’t long enough. People misuse the return window and will continue to abuse it regardless of how long it is. Shortening it the way Google did has done nothing to prevent those people from continueing to do so. It mearly punishes everyone else.
When people think off the return window, they view it incorrectly to begin with. It is not meant so that you can buy a game and decide whether or not you like it. Its meant so that you can return it if it does not work on your device.
See, the difference between software on iOS is that the apps work because all the devices are pretty much the exact same device. Thats an advantage iOS has. The apps just work so there is no need for a return window.
Computer software also isnt refundable tho their are few exeptions. Costcos will take anything back. Even 2 year old tvs….. The reasoning here is that the minimum required specs needed to beable to run the software is printed clearly on the box/download page. If you dont meet the req, dont expect it to work. Now if thr game itself is defective, they will swap you for a working copy…
Now for Android. So many diffetent devices with varying components and no way of knowing whether or not an app will work without trying it first. That return window is needed. Noone wants to spend money on apps that dont even work for their device.
Posting from a mobile browser SUX. You cant scroll around these stupid text boxes… Continuing where I left off.
The return window should be 12-24 hours n that is because of the devs and the carriers.
How many times have you decided to download what appeared to be a fairly small app or one not to significant in size only to find out that you are not even able to play it yet and must download an additional gig of data….. But that 15 minute countdown timer started already the moment the app finished installing initially.
In this day of tiered data plans and data throttling, do you really want that additional download to count towards your monthly data allowance? We need time to beable to get to a wifi spot somewhere to finish the download without the feeling of being rushed to do so in worry of the app not working and missing our 15 minute window.
No, 15 minutes is retardedly to short. Even 1 hour isn’t long enough because of additional downloads after already downloading and installing.
Though I would like more time on the return window, I still believe this is a ridiculous lawsuit that should get thrown out. This is Google’s store, you don’t have to buy from it. If you do, they have their return policy, just like any other store. If you don’t like it, nobody is forcing you to buy from it.
If you really that upset about the return window, like many have said before, go use the iPhone. Every purchase is final, no exceptions! Yes, it could be better, but at least we have what we have. To sue over this is straight up ridiculous and the guy suing is a moron. Thru have their rules, their policies, if you don’t like them then find another app store.
I think it should be 24 hours. Some people play with their phones while on a lunch break and may download some stuff. And not really really having enough time to test out a new app.
15 minutes IS INDEED rediculous!!!! What’s wrong with a 24hr window to decide. 15 minute refund is such an idiot idea!!!!!!
I can’t say I’ve even found too many applications that are worthy of purchasing anyways. I’m not a cheap ass (as I sit here typing from a Mac) I just haven’t seen too many applications worth purchasing. Titanium Backup, Root Explorer, Beautiful Widgets, and Robo Defense. 1 hour is a good time window in my opinion. If people are going to steal the app than 15 minutes or an hour makes no difference.
Using a Mac (and I’ll throw in iPhone here as well) does not exclude someone from being a “cheap ass”… dealt with many of both groups of users who were exactly that. People purchase their choice for a variety of reasons. Cost is a factor, but it would be wrong to say that all Mac users are willing to freely spend money.. Just as it would be wrong to say that those who don’t use Mac or iPhone products are cheap.
His argument holds though ppl who own a Mac likely have money to drop like its hot. How else can ppl follow apple. Simply put they have money. I don’t have a Mac because it is overpriced I have a PC because its cheaper. You pick android and deal with the problems because you have less money and don’t mind some of nuances of android.
The best argument is the backup idea…in 15 mins I can have the app saved to my sd and return it…and install it in way less than 15 mins. Anyone that argues with this time limit has an option…go buy an iphone already. I promise you I won’t shed a tear if less people walked around bitching about their “droid” because it doesn’t have siri…something no one even uses. Start realizing this is the future and Google has NO obligation to you…so unless you want to fuck up a good thing you will stop bitching and start understanding what they’ve given us
I agree with you Joe, however I do not agree with the logic of purchasing, backing up and returning for a refund. How about purchasing, check it out and make sure it works and then move on? The return window I’m guessing is there to make sure it works for your phone. IOS has only a few devices while Android has many (which is a great thing). You download, open the app and make sure it runs then you’re good to go! An added benefit is that you can refund it if you happen to not like it right then. Unlike ios and any other software you purchase online or in a store. Why are people beating down Google for giving you something that NO ONE else offers? Yes, I can get behind the ‘1 hour’ movement but to take Google to court? Really? People in California, PULL YOUR BRITCHES UP AND START ACTING LIKE A BIG BOY! Stop being so flippin petty and start singing “Mommy wow, I’m a big boy now!”
Am I being too mean this morning?
I live in California and I am not suing anyone. Are you saying I still need to pull up my britches and acting like a big BOY? Yeah…you are probably being too mean this morning. I guess I need a sex change and move out of state now after changing into my britches…
So let me get this straight, Apple provides no refund window and yet Californians are suing google for a fifteen minute one?
Exactly. Now you see why I do not live in California. I couldn’t live amongst that type of thinking. There’s a reason why that state is so upside down financially, they sue everyone for everything over nothing.
Your comment is categorizing everyone in California as sue happy. What state did you go to for school that would teach you such a horrible way of thinking?
As a Canadian, we kind of think all of the US is sue happy lol. People can sue for anything down there. Here, it is usually too expensive to be worth suing for “take a shot at it” cases.
Nope. Sorry but you’re lucky that Google gives you 15 minutes. I was surprised that they even offered refunds. Personally they should get rid of the windows and encourage free limited trials. I prefer test driving something to decide if I want to spend the money to get rid of advertisements.
Nope. Sorry but you’re lucky that Google gives you a window. I think it would be better to encourage limited free trials to test drive the app and eliminate the window. That way developers can make money via advertising or outright payment.
Here is the solution: buy your app, back it up, refund. If you like the app buy it again, if not you’re already refunded. No you have an indefinite return policy.
Yah releasing trial software > refund window IMHO also doesn’t the 15 minutes start after download has completed? That was my understanding so why would the size of the download matter?
You have 15 Minutes AFTER the download and install… more than enough time to test compatability.
IMO Google needs to giiveus more than 15 mins how about 30 days. Its just software. Put ads in it and drop the price to free. This will make everyone happy . Sorry I don’t pay for apps I spent enough money buying the phones
15 minutes is ridiculously short. I don’t see what was wrong with 24 hours, except that at the time the 15 minute windows was implemented, it was suspected that game developers were being hard hit by users getting bored with their games and refunding within the 24 hours. This may be the case, but pushing everyone into a 15 minute window was absolutely the wrong thing to do.
Each app should have it’s own refund window specified by the developer, possibly from a limited set of choices, say 15 minutes, 1 hour, 12 hours, 24 hours, 7 days. Even better, each app would have an alert appear upon first use after the refund window expires, giving the user the option of refunding, or continuing use and foregoing the possibility of a refund.
+1 for extending the refund window. Personally, I feel developers should be able to set the refund window themselves, based on the complexity of their app.
But if it has to be one default time allowance for everything, I feel 3-4 hours would be more reasonable.
I will probably get bashed for these comments but…
When you buy PC software do you get a refund window? No. When you buy an xbox game, do you have a refund window? No. When you buy market content for a game do you get a refund window? No. Google Play is really the only platform that even gives you a refund window. Even the amazon app store doesn’t give you a refund window. Do your research before you buy the app. Get the free version (if there is one, and a lot have one), read the reviews, go to the site. Why are you buying things on impulse in the first place. Figure out if it is something you want to buy before you buy it.
The 15 minute window makes me not give apps a chance even when I buy them. If anything about an app isn’t perfect, I refund it without giving it a chance. One hour after download, and full installation would be adequate for me.