Google extends app refund time to two hours

11 Sep 2014

Internet search giant Google has extended its return time for newly downloaded apps from the Google Play Store from 15 minutes to two hours after its original download.

Android Police reported that this marks the first change since Google originally scaled back the time frame in which a consumer could return a paid-for app free of charge.

Back in 2010, Google was much more lenient when it came to its return policy, as it offered downloaders a whole 24 hours to return an app. When this was scaled back to the 15-minute window, customers have complained that doesn’t offer enough time.

It was also an issue for developers, fearing their apps may fail to become economically viable if people were willing to try it for one day and then ask for a refund.

The issue over Google’s time frame has been seen as an important right of the consumer, especially given instances such as the one last March, when a mother in the US attempted to sue Google over US$65 in in-app purchases that her child had made.

Google also advises customers who may have missed this two-hour window to contact developers directly if they feel they deserve a refund for the purchased apps.

Colm Gorey was a senior journalist with Silicon Republic

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