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Show HN: RefundHalt, contest App Store and Google Play refunds automatically

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Show HN: RefundHalt, contest App Store and Google Play refunds automatically

#1

Post by kedv »

Hi HN, I'm the founder of RefundHalt.

When a user of your app asks Apple or Google for a refund, it almost always gets granted because you never contest it with consumption and usage data. You bear the full loss.

From August 3, 2026, Google also starts billing developers the purchase price plus bank fees on chargebacks; this means not only will you lose the original purchase price, but the bank also charges you extra money for this as well, about ~$15-30 dollars per chargeback (or even more)

RefundHalt contests these refunds for you automatically, with your app user's real usage evidence.

Setting up ALL your IOS and Android apps for automatic refund protection is extremely easy; it takes less than 3 minutes, you only need to copy and paste some values. No SDK installation is required.

Refund rates across my apps and some test users went from about 9% to ~1.9%, early data shows.

What would stop you from using this?

Show HN: RefundHalt, contest App Store and Google Play refunds automatically
refundhalt.com

Re: Show HN: RefundHalt, contest App Store and Google Play refunds automatically

#3

Post by kedv »

ungreased0675 wrote: post #2

This seems to be a product that will make the world a worse place. Why was this a problem you want to solve? (Other than “I want more money “)

If you've ever shipped a paid app, then you would know this problem. People use your app for weeks or months, then request a refund or a chargeback. This service exists to help developers state their case. And the reason I developed it is because of this update from Google: https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answ...

Apple and Google literally have APIs for developers to provide evidence (This is what RefundHalt does for developers), but like 95% of developers don't have a server to intercept these notifications and respond in time. RefundHalt does not automatically stop a refund. Apple and Google decide that; it only provides the evidence.

And yes, services like this already exist. RevenueCat responds to Apple's consumption requests for its users; Adapty has Refund Saver, there are a lot of services like this for Stripe as well.

Re: Show HN: RefundHalt, contest App Store and Google Play refunds automatically

#4

Post by freakynit »

ungreased0675 wrote: post #2

This seems to be a product that will make the world a worse place. Why was this a problem you want to solve? (Other than “I want more money “)

People heavily misuse refunds/chargebacks. And you are generally given very very small timeline to make your case against it. Something automated is really helpful.. though, in this case, I don't agree on the pricing. It probably should be some bare-minimum, and then per handled case.

Re: Show HN: RefundHalt, contest App Store and Google Play refunds automatically

#5

Post by kedv »

freakynit wrote: post #4
ungreased0675 wrote: post #2

This seems to be a product that will make the world a worse place. Why was this a problem you want to solve? (Other than “I want more money “)

People heavily misuse refunds/chargebacks. And you are generally given very very small timeline to make your case against it. Something automated is really helpful.. though, in this case, I don't agree on the pricing. It probably should be some bare-minimum, and then per handled case.

[dead]

Re: Show HN: RefundHalt, contest App Store and Google Play refunds automatically

#7

Post by ungreased0675 »

kedv wrote: post #3
ungreased0675 wrote: post #2

This seems to be a product that will make the world a worse place. Why was this a problem you want to solve? (Other than “I want more money “)

If you've ever shipped a paid app, then you would know this problem. People use your app for weeks or months, then request a refund or a chargeback. This service exists to help developers state their case. And the reason I developed it is because of this update from Google: https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answ... Apple and Google literally have APIs for developers to provide evidence (This is…

Thanks for the explanation.
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