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Google will subtract all refunds from developer payouts from now on
July 19, 2025
Google has announced that it will no longer absorb refund costs that have occurred outside the 48-hour window, but instead, they will be deducted from developers’ payouts from now on.
As you may know already, Google’s refund policy is very straight-forward: you can get a full immediate refund within 2 hours of your purchase, no questions asked, and there’s also the 48-hour window to apply for a refund if you need more time to decide. What you may not know is that you can still get a refund outside that 48-hour window.
Google quietly implemented this change a few years back where non-instant refunds are categorized into ones that have been purchased within 48 hours and ones that are outside that time frame. The automated refund process for apps that have been purchased more than 48 hours ago is actually quite simple: you request the refund via email, and often times, Google will accept it and refund the cost right back into your account. The only difference – at least for developers – was that before, Google absorbed the costs associated with refunds made outside 48 hours.
Well, that is no longer the case. In an email sent out to Google Play developers, the search giant explains that it will be making some changes to its return policy. Specifically, refunds of all sorts, even those made outside the 48-hour window, will now be the responsibility of developers:
As you can see, Google is now providing what is called the Voided Purchases API so that developers can “claw back” any in-app purchases of users who have received refunds, which according to the company, should help deter people from abusing this system.
According to9to5Google,the automated refund process is here to stay, but Google is looking to implement a few tweaks. These changes will take effect in the coming months.
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