According to the latest report, Apple appears to be testing a new feature that will allow developers to automatically charge users when app subscription prices rise.
Now, when subscription fees go up, Apple asks customers to explicitly agree to the subscription price increase. If the customer does not click on the presented “Agree New Price” button, their subscription is automatically canceled.
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However, if a new feature Apple is testing rolls out, customers may simply be notified of the upcoming changes rather than being given the option to cancel their subscription. Essentially, Apple is testing an opt-out system, rather than an opt-in system, to handle subscription price changes.
When Disney+ recently raised the price of its subscription to $7.99 per month, some developers noticed that the notifications from the Disney+ app were more like reminders about the price increase than an explicit opt-in.
Disney+ users receive a large “OK” button in the notification to let them know about the change, but there is no built-in opt-out button, instead, the app provides a link to change the subscription.
Other developers have noticed similar behavior with different subscriptions, and an Apple spokesperson confirmed that the company is conducting a pilot test of the new subscription system.
“We are piloting a new commerce feature that we plan to roll out soon,” the spokesperson said. “The pilot includes developers across different app categories, organization sizes, and regions to help test an upcoming enhancement, and we believe This is great for developers and users, and we’ll be sharing more details in the coming weeks.”
If the change rolls out more widely, Apple App Store users will need to pay closer attention to their subscriptions, as pricing increases will be easier to ignore without the current system of express choice.
Moreover, Apple didn’t provide further details about the pilot test, information on the apps currently participating, or when the feature might roll out more broadly to all developers.
