The Standard Flow, Short and Sweet
- The customer asks for a refund in-app or on Apple's website.
- Apple's server sends a notification to your backend. From that moment you have up to 12 hours to send consumption data.
- Apple reviews the information. If your data never arrives - or doesn't change the picture - Apple decides on its own. Officially it has up to 48 hours, but often it's much quicker.
💡 Remember: 12 hours is the maximum you're allowed to take, not a promise that Apple will wait that long.
Why the Decision Can Arrive Almost Instantly
- The purchase is brand-new. The customer asked for a refund minutes after paying, so the content likely hasn't been used.
- The account has a clean record. Few or no past refunds mean minimal payment risk.
- The charge isn't settled yet. It's easier to cancel an authorisation than to refund settled funds.
- Local laws demand speed. In the EU and several other regions, digital goods can be returned if unused - Apple moves fast to stay compliant.
In these cases Apple's own data is usually enough to grant the refund without waiting for anything from the developer.
TL;DR
Apple reserves the right to refund the customer as soon as it's confident about the case—sometimes within 15 minutes. The sooner and more precisely you provide evidence of real usage, the better the odds that it will be counted.
