Apple’s policy of offering almost no refunds for applications purchased from its App Store may have implications for business users beyond the waste of a few dollars, according to In-Stat analyst Allen Nogee. He said the policy may be a yellow flag that applications are being poorly tested and more likely to carry malware.
Apple’s ground rules are clear. Section 12b of the App Store’s terms and conditions, highlighted in a New York Times blog posting on Oct. 12, refers only to delay or non-delivery — not subpar performance — as a reason for a refund.
Beyond Annoyance
Nogee was a victim of the harsh policies. “I purchased a printer application that allows you to print directly to a printer,” he said. “It cost $6.99, which is fairly expensive for an app. The reviews were glowing, but it didn’t work at all. You couldn’t do anything, such as select a printer. I read the reviews again and it appears that they were written by the author of the application. It was clear that in this case it was not just a small bug. The application just couldn’t perform what it was supposed to do.”
After reading the terms and conditions from Apple, Nogee realized he had wasted $6.99. “I was pretty much stuck,” he said.
Nogee pointed out that there is an issue here beyond annoyance. Apple’s desire to bulk up the number of applications that are available may be undercutting quality control.
In the desktop world, brand-name software can’t be returned. But in most cases, those products have commercial developers standing behind them. Conversely, shareware usually can be tried for periods between 60 and 90 days before it is paid for. Those checks and balances aren’t built into online application marketplaces.
Nothing at Stake But a Poor Review
Security is a major concern. “I’m not sure that…