Last week, we reported on a flaw with the EU’s new no-questions-asked 14-day refund policy that meant customers could effectively get paid apps for free, as refunding the app does not delete it from customers’ devices.

In response, Apple has adjusted its App Store purchases slightly for customers who have an excessive number of refunds on file. This means people with a track record of refunding purchase effectively lose the right to refund their purchase.

As reported by iDownloadBlog and noted by Rosyna Keller, the alert shown above only displays if an individual has refunded a lot of iTunes Store content (apps, music, books, films or TV shows). If a user is presented with this dialog, they must agree to the notice before they are allowed to purchase, surrendering their right to refund the transaction later.

This is because EU law allows companies to remove refund rights for digital content as long as users are made explicitly aware at the time of download. Pressing Cancel stops the transaction completely and the user cannot buy the app until they agree.

Naturally, for normal users, Apple does not want to complicate the 1-click purchase flow of the App Store with this modal alert so it gives users a grace period … as long as they use the refund system sensibly. It is not clear exactly what parameters cause the alert to be shown. In regards to the ‘flaw’ we reported, the change means that whilst individuals can ‘steal’ a few apps, the iTunes Store system will mean that users cannot do this indefinitely. This is a big improvement.

Image via iDownloadBlog

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