Fleeceware

Fleeceware is a category of exploitative mobile application characterised by deceptive subscription pricing. A typical fleeceware app offers a short free trial — sometimes as little as three days — and then begins charging a disproportionately high weekly or monthly fee, often tens or hundreds of times the market rate for comparable functionality. The apps may provide basic, mediocre features (a simple QR scanner, a horoscope app, a basic photo editor) that are freely available elsewhere.

The key deception lies in the subscription mechanics: deleting the app does not cancel the subscription. The billing continues through the app store's subscription system until the user manually cancels it. Many users are unaware of this, believing that uninstalling an app ends any associated charges. Fleeceware apps often bury the subscription terms in small print during sign-up or use dark patterns in the interface to make cancellation difficult to find.

Fleeceware technically operates within app store rules, which makes it difficult to remove. However, sustained media attention and regulatory pressure have led both Apple and Google to tighten free-trial and subscription disclosure requirements. Users should always review subscription terms before starting a trial, check their bank statements for recurring charges from apps they no longer use, and cancel subscriptions through the app store's subscription management screen rather than simply deleting the app.