How to Avoid Being Scammed With Fake Subscription Apps
Tech Hell has a special corner reserved for app developers trying to get people to pay obscene money for a low-quality product.
I’m not talking about situations where you get mad that your favorite band’s album just dropped out of Spotify. Close the service if necessary. No problem. Instead, I mean the ongoing problem of scams or suspicious apps offering subscriptions for common features. Or worse, app developers that offer an ultra-short “free trial” that automatically converts to a subscription and you don’t figure it out until you get stuck with your bill (s).
While this issue is usually raised in the context of Apple and the App Store, it is a platform-independent issue. It’s just that Apple really makes it harder for the average person to be able to unsubscribe from an app by hiding that capability under different screens, while Google makes subscription management pretty front-end and focused on the Google Play Store.
First of all, it is up to you not to be deceived; Apple and Google can help by pulling malicious apps from their app stores, but you need to understand what you’re signing up for before doing so. Here are a few tricks you can use to keep the shit out of your way:
Check app reviews
Don’t just look at an app’s star rating or just read a few reviews before you download something (or agree to subscribe to an app subscription). Read the one-star reviews, which usually show up pretty quickly if an app tries to trick you or otherwise trick you into paying for a subscription you don’t need or need. Let those who came before you and were involved in the payment of the subscription will be ahead.
Think, really think about what the app offers
What is a subscription? It is an agreement to pay a regular amount of money for access to a service or function. Think about the things that most people pay for a subscription to: magazines, Netflix, MMO, etc. Constant, regularly updated content. While that doesn’t mean a service like LinkedIn doesn’t deserve a subscription, an app that gives you access to a simple-sounding feature like a flashlight or a level, or even the ability to translate from one language to another. – it may be worth conducting additional investigation.
In other words, it doesn’t take long to run a quick web search to see if there are other apps – free or paid – or even system apps pre-installed on your device that can do the same thing as the app. wants you to pay the regular access fee. Don’t pay $ 8 a month to get regular weather updates. Don’t pay $ 10 a month to read QR codes. No no no.
Actually read the fine print
Nobody reads the fine print, but you should. Before pressing any buttons in the app, especially if you accidentally open the payment screen, please read this carefully to understand what might happen. How long does the free trial of the app last? How much will you be charged at the end of the free trial? How often will you be charged this amount?
If I was a fortune-teller, I would say that most rogue apps are set up like this: you get a three-day free trial (or as much as Apple or Google will allow), and upon completion of that trial, you automatically switch to a weekly payout for whichever something unpleasant amount. Let’s say $ 7-9. And with 52 weeks a year …
Wait before agreeing to anything.
Rogue apps like to display pages that imply that you must subscribe to continue using the “functionality” of the app. Or, at the very least, they throw you a lot of pages that say “pay us” and “sign up”, trying to trick you with their persistence.
Most of the time, it seems like the only way to continue using the app is to subscribe to a subscription, but if you pause when you see these pages – assuming you really want to keep using the app, which you probably shouldn’t – you probably , you will see a small “x” icon somewhere that will allow you to close the screen and continue what you were doing. It will probably be difficult to spot and click, but it will be there. Just pretend you’re playing Where’s Waldo or something.
Check your subscriptions regularly
It’s frustrating process ( at least on iOS ), but you should regularly check whether you have any weird subscription, which eat up chunks of your savings. While you will also likely notice this if you keep track of your credit card balance like a hawk, make it a rule to check your iOS or Android “sign up” page once a month. That way, even if you signed up for something you didn’t want, you won’t get hurt as much. You might even be able to ask Apple or Google for a refund if you’re lucky.
Learn all the pesky developer tricks to avoid them
If you really want to try your hand at hidden subscriptions – and you should – take a few minutes to browse this excellent guide from YouTuber “HolaWorld”.
In it, the creator lays out a number of different ways that apps can trick you into subscribing to something you might not have intended to subscribe to, depending on how the apps display the subscription prompt (and how some people will click on the wrong button to “close” it, which leads to their subscription). While the video is geared towards iOS users, Android fans never hurt to be more informed.