Apple has faced widespread criticism following the revelation of practices within its stores in the United States, where some employees were accused of activating automatic trial subscriptions for services such as Apple One without obtaining informed consent from customers. This issue began after a series of videos posted by consumer rights activist Louis Rossmann, which explained how the "Connect and Personalize" system within the stores is being exploited.
Mechanism and the flaw
When a customer visits the store, they are asked to scan a QR code for a personalized shopping experience, which allows the employee to access customer data, including owned devices, current subscriptions, and available offers. According to reports, some employees were activating these subscriptions without sufficiently explaining to customers that they would be charged automatically after the trial period ended; in some cases, the employee even clicked the "Agree" button on behalf of the customer.
Why this news matters
The danger of these practices lies in their direct link to the "services attach rate," a performance metric that required employees to meet a specific target, as they were asked to get 4 out of every 10 customers to subscribe to at least one service. This pressure to meet numbers created an incentive for employees to bypass customer privacy and explicit consent.
Apple's response
Following the uproar, Apple took swift measures, including:
- Canceling the "services attach rate" metric for retail employees, with an official justification that the metric is less important during the holiday season.
- Issuing an internal memo emphasizing the importance of respecting customer privacy and obtaining their explicit consent when offering any services or subscriptions.
How to protect yourself
Users are advised to regularly review their subscriptions via the Settings app on their iPhones by tapping on their name and selecting "Subscriptions," where any unwanted service can be canceled. Affected individuals can also request refunds via the reportaproblem.apple.com website in the event of unintended charges.