Apple has decided to reimburse anyone who downloaded Peace, the most popular ad blocking tool in the company’s app store, according to the app’s developer.
The app launched last week alongside the company’s new operating system, iOS 9. The $2.99 app quickly jumped to the number one spot on the Apple (AAPL) app store for 36 hours in the U.S., generating handsome rewards for its programmer Marco Arment. He has not stated how much he made.
Arment decided to pull the app on Friday after finding himself at the center of a heated debate about the ethicality of ad blockers. In a blog post titled “Just doesn’t feel good,” he advised anyone who had installed the to request a refund from Apple.
“Apple notified me this afternoon that they’ll be proactively refunding all purchases of Peace,” Arment wrote in a follow-up post on Monday. “It will probably take a few days to process.”
Apple seems to have made an exception to its usual no-refunds policy for customers who have downloaded apps developed by third parties. “Over 13,000 people were granted refunds through the regular system over the last few days,” Arment wrote. “I’m actually happy — or at least, as happy as someone can be who just made a lot of money on a roller coaster of surprise, guilt, and stress, then lost it all by surprise in a giant reset that actually resolves things pretty well.”
Apple did not immediately respond to Coins2Day’s request for comment.
Judging by some reactions to Arment’s decision posted to Twitter, it seems that at least some people didn’t mind whether or not they received a refund.
@marcoarment consider my $2.99 as a tip for the great work on @OvercastFM!
— Chris Wagner (@cwagdev) September 20, 2015
https://twitter.com/nagrommit/status/645625628327346176
@marcoarment keep my money!
— Ryan Schmidt (@ryanschmidt) September 21, 2015
https://twitter.com/Python2121/status/645642814039171072
For more on Apple’s iOS 9 operating system, watch this video below.
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