Some Apple Store employees in the United States have allegedly signed customers up for auto-renewing subscription trials for Apple One and other services without their informed consent, according to a series of YouTube videos published over the past two weeks. The videos were posted by electronics technician and consumer rights advocate Louis Rossman, who relied on tips from people who contacted him.
How the Apple Store sign-up process works
According to the process described in the videos, a customer visiting an Apple Store may be asked whether they want to scan a QR code for a personalized shopping experience, called “Connect and Personalize.” If the customer agrees, the employee can see some of their information on a company-issued device. That information includes which Apple devices the customer owns, which Apple services they already subscribe to, and which subscription offers are available based on recent purchases.
The employee can then show subscription offers on the device, with “Agree” and “Decline” buttons. The default payment method on the customer’s Apple Account is automatically available for sign-ups, as long as it has not expired. In practice, that means a trial can be activated without the customer entering any new payment details.
The services attach rate target
Until early last week, Apple tracked a metric known as the “services attach rate,” with a target of 40% for each retail employee at some U.S. stores. The target meant employees were encouraged to get at least four out of every 10 customers they helped with a device purchase to sign up for at least one subscription.
Tipsters told Rossman that some employees activated trials without clearly explaining that the subscriptions would be charged automatically at a later date. Some employees allegedly rushed through the process, and some were reportedly told to describe the trials as “gifts.” In some cases, employees allegedly tapped the “Agree” button themselves without the customer’s informed consent. The allegations suggest the aim was to raise the attach rate as high as possible.
Apple does send customers an email when a new trial is activated on their account. Customers may not notice that message, or may not realize that it refers to a subscription that will renew automatically later.
Apple removes the metric and reminds staff
Reports confirmed that Apple removed the services metric for employees early last week, just days after Rossman’s videos were published. Apple’s stated explanation was that the metric is less relevant during the holiday season, when many customers buy Apple products as gifts for others.
Later in the week, Apple sent an internal memo to retail employees. The memo reminded staff about respecting customer privacy and obtaining consent. It said this applies to subscription trials and the “Connect and Personalize” system, and also to Apple Upgrade sign-ups and Genius Bar work authorizations.
The memo arrived before the first weekend of Apple’s holiday shopping season, which started on a Friday. Apple hires extra employees during the holidays to handle the larger number of shoppers, so the reminder was particularly relevant for new staff. Whether the metric change and memo were driven mainly by the holiday calendar or also by Rossman’s videos is not known. Either way, the changes address some of the concerns he raised.
How customers can check and cancel trials
iPhone users can open the Settings app, tap their name at the top of the screen, and then tap “Subscriptions” to see active subscriptions on their Apple Account, including trials. Selecting a subscription offers a “Cancel Subscription” or “Cancel All Services” option.
Customers who want to dispute a charge can go to reportaproblem.apple.com, choose the “Request a refund” option and follow the steps. Regularly checking credit card and bank statements is also a simple way to catch unexpected charges from trials that have converted to paid subscriptions.