Digital content you pay for — apps, games, e-books, downloaded software, music, and some streaming subscriptions — is covered by its own part of the Consumer Rights Act 2015. It must be of satisfactory quality, fit for purpose, and as described, just like physical goods.
| Problem | First remedy | If that doesn't fix it |
|---|---|---|
| Not of satisfactory quality / doesn't work as it should | Repair (a fix or update) within a reasonable time | Price reduction, or full refund if serious |
| Not fit for purpose you were told about | Same as above | Same as above |
| Causes damage to your device | Compensation for the damage, separate from a refund | Small claims court if unresolved |
You can ask the seller (the developer, publisher, or platform you paid through) for a repair (an update or fix) within a reasonable time. If that doesn't happen, you can ask for a price reduction or, in serious cases, a full refund.
Only paid digital content is covered by these specific protections. A free app that came bundled with a paid device or service may still be covered indirectly, but a genuinely free, standalone app generally isn't.
Yes, if it wasn't fit for purpose or as described (e.g. system requirements were misleading), you can claim under these rules — separate from whatever refund policy the specific app store (Steam, PlayStation Store, App Store) offers, which may be more generous in practice.
Yes — if digital content you bought causes damage to your device or other digital content because of a fault, and the seller didn't use reasonable care and skill to prevent this, you may be able to claim for that damage too, not just a refund for the content itself.
If a subscription service is persistently faulty (constant buffering, missing promised content, outages) it can be treated as not fit for purpose, giving grounds for a partial refund or the right to cancel and get money back for the affected period.
Your statutory rights are against whoever you contracted with for the purchase, which is often the platform (app store) rather than the developer directly — being passed between the two doesn't remove your right to a resolution from whoever took your payment.