Apple has dropped a 40% sign-up target for Apple Store subscription trials after claims that some employees signed customers up without their consent. The trials renew into paid plans on their own, and the first charge can land months after the store visit, so it is worth checking your Apple Account if you bought a device at an Apple Store recently.
Electronics technician Louis Rossmann raised the claims in an hour-long YouTube video and several shorter ones since late October, drawing on emails from people who say they work or worked at Apple Stores. MacRumors confirmed that Apple removed the metric, and none of the accounts Rossmann received has been independently verified.
Employees allegedly pressed Agree on customers’ behalf
At a United States Apple Store, an employee can ask you to scan a QR code for Connect and Personalize. Once you scan it, the employee can see the Apple devices you own and the services you pay for. The trial offers you qualify for appear on the employee’s own device with Agree and Decline buttons, and your default payment method is available for the sign-up as long as it has not expired.
The claims are that some employees rushed this step, described the trials as gifts without saying they renew, or tapped Agree themselves to lift their numbers. Apple emails you when a trial starts, but the message is easy to miss. Apple offers three months of Apple One free with a new iPhone, iPad or Mac, so the first charge arrives long after the store visit.
The people who wrote to Rossmann mention Apple One, Apple Music, Apple Fitness+ and Apple Creator Studio. Apple One Individual costs $21.95 a month once the trial ends, and Apple Creator Studio costs $12.99 a month. Some employees told Rossmann their stores hand the device to the customer and follow the consent steps, so the practice is not described at every store.
Apple removed the metric and reminded staff about consent
Until the first week of November, Apple tracked a services attach rate with a 40% target for each employee at some United States stores. A 40% target meant four in ten customers buying a device were expected to take at least one subscription. Apple removed the metric early that week, days after Rossmann’s videos went up, and told MacRumors the reason is that it matters less during the holidays, when many customers are buying gifts.
Apple also sent retail employees an internal reminder about respecting customer privacy. Staff were told to get consent for subscription trials, Connect and Personalize, Apple Upgrade sign-ups and Genius Bar work authorizations, ahead of the holiday shopping season that began Friday, November 6. Apple hires seasonal staff for the holidays, so new employees saw the reminder before their first busy weekend. It is not clear whether the holiday timing or Rossmann’s videos drove the changes.
Check your Apple Account for Apple Store subscription trials
You can check your App Store subscriptions on your iPhone by opening Settings, tapping your name and tapping Subscriptions, which lists every active subscription and trial on your Apple Account. Tap one and choose Cancel Subscription. To stop a trial from renewing, cancel at least 24 hours before it ends.
If you were charged for a trial you never agreed to, go to reportaproblem.apple.com, choose Request a refund and follow the steps. Customers who found a trial say it was listed on their store receipt, away from the payment details, so look there too. A trial that started in the store bills the card on your Apple Account when it ends, so check your card and bank statements for charges you do not recognize.
