Sometimes you purchase something by mistake or just don’t like it.  You’re not stuck!  Getting refunds is pretty easy, but there’s a time limit.  You can’t decide months later you don’t like an app

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For Android apps, you can get an automatic refund if you ask for it within 2 hours. After that, you’ll need to fill out a particular form if it’s been more than 2 hours, but less than 48.  After that you’ll need to contact the developer for a refund.  Companies are pretty good about refunds.  They’d prefer a refund over a bad review.  Google’s full refund policies are listed here.

For Apple apps, including iPhone and iPad, you can’t get an automatic refund like on Google Play with Android apps.  You’ll need to “report a problem” with the app.  This guide explains it well, but basically you click the link on the receipt or from within the app store.  You tell Apple you don’t like it or it doesn’t work and they get back to you.  Apple’s window for refunds is longer than Google’s.  You have up to 90 days to request that refund.  Apple’s full refund polices are listed here.

Don’t be afraid to ask for your money back if something didn’t work right or you didn’t like it. You’d return a product to a physical store that you didn’t like or didn’t work for you.

One caveat:  if you do this, don’t expect to keep the app.  It may stay on your device but won’t get updates.  You also won’t be able to reinstall it when you have a problem.

Photo by 401(K) 2013