How to Turn Off Automatic App Updates in Android, iOS, Windows Phone 8.1, Windows 8.1

Many smartphone users download far too many apps for them to keep updating each one manually. Luckily, the major app platforms all have automatic app updates now, and the default setting for this is 'On'. This means that your apps will remain up to date with all the latest features and bug-fixes that the developers come up with, without you having to do a single thing.
And these days apps roll out bug fixes faster than you can say, "update", so keeping the app updates on automatic makes a lot of sense. But there are some major drawbacks involved as well, and these might cause you to rethink your automatic update policy.
For one thing, if automatic updates are enabled and not just limited to Wi-Fi, then you could end up inadvertently spending huge amounts of money as every small update is downloaded over your 3G connection.
Aside from that, constantly transferring data and updating the software also keeps the phone running, and keeps your battery running down a lot faster than you were expecting - turning automatic updates off could give you that little extra time you always find yourself needing.
And then, of course, there are the changes to software that you didn't want in the first place. Sometimes bugfixes add more bugs, and sometimes new features aren't improvements at all. There are times when you will discover that an app has updated and then find yourself wishing that the old version were still around.
For example, we're big fans of the iOS game Crossy Road - or were, until the latest update. We were playing it happily on an iPad 3 until it auto-updated. Since the update, the game started lagging on the iPad and became frustrating. Monetisation features in the game have also become more aggressive and get in the way of an otherwise great experience.
Such a thing can happen to any app and does give you a good reason not to update automatically. The adage "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" holds true. If you've faced any such situation and want to stop updating apps automatically, follow the steps in this guide.
Android
Android gives you a fair amount of freedom about updates. You can turn off all updates, or limit updates to Wi-Fi downloads only. You can also enable updates for only specific apps - so for example, you might want the latest versions of apps you use very frequently, but you don't want to waste bandwidth downloading updates for other apps that will be launched only once every three months.
To turn updates on or off, follow these steps:

1. Open Google Play.
2. Tap the hamburger icon (three horizontal lines) on the top-left.
3. Tap Settings.
4. Tap Auto-update apps.
5. To disable automatic app updates, select Do not auto-update apps.
6. If you want to instead auto-update apps only when you're connected to a WiFi network, tap Auto-update apps over Wi-Fi only in the same pop-up.

Android also lets you choose which apps you want to update automatically.

1. To turn on auto-update for any app, go to the app page in the Google Play app.
2. Tap the three vertical dots in the top right.
3. Check Auto-update.

This way, you can disable automatic updates and still keep chosen apps ready with the latest versions.

iOS
On iOS, you can choose to either have automatic updates on or off, and if on, you can choose whether or not to use your mobile connection to download apps. There's no way to disable automatic app updates for individual apps on iOS - this means that either all apps will update, or none. If you want to stop all automatic updates, the steps are simple:

1. Go to Settings > iTunes & App Store.
2. To disable all automatic app updates, turn off the green switch next to Updates.
3. If you want to automatically update apps, but only when you are connected to a Wi-Fi network, leave updates on and turn off Use Mobile Data instead.

Windows Phone 8.1
Like iOS, Windows Phone 8.1 also lets you choose whether or not to update all apps, or to update them only on Wi-Fi, and not on cellular data.

1. Open Store.
2. Tap the three horizontal dots icon on the bottom-right.
3. Tap Settings.
4. Tap the switch next to Update apps automatically to turn it off.
5. You can instead turn on Only get updates over Wi-Fi to avoid unnecessary cellular data charges.

Windows 8.1
The settings for the Windows 8.1 app updates are very similar to Windows Phone 8.1. If you have a Windows 8.1 machine, you can follow these steps to disable automatic app updates.

1. Open Store.
2. Swipe from the right edge of the screen (or press the Windows Key + C) to reveal the Charms Bar.
3. Tap Settings.
4. Tap App Updates.
5. Tap the button below Automatically update my apps to change it from Yes to No.

Have you disabled automatic updates on your smartphone or tablet? Why did you do so? Let us know via the comments. For more tutorials, visit our How To section.

How to Browse and Search the App Store Without iTunes

The App Store for iOS and Mac is a great place to find new apps for your Apple devices, but its search algorithms aren't the best. iTunes doesn't have advanced search features, and many people don't care for the software at all. Thankfully, you don't need to deal with iTunes to browse and search the App Store.
Not many people know this, but Apple's official website offers you a way to browse the iOS and Mac App Stores (US catalogue). You can look through various sub-categories such as Books, Games and Productivity, to see the popular apps in those categories, or go through the alphabetical list of apps in each category.
However, that can get tiring very quickly and the official site does not have a search function for apps, which is a problem. There are also several third-party websites such as 148apps, Appshopper and Toucharcade that will let you search for apps. However, these sites are really geared towards discovery of new and on-sale apps and not search, and they also include news and reviews. If you're just interested in searching for apps, then these sites not the best choices.
If you know the name of the app you are looking for, one way to find its description page is to use the site operator with Google. However, this can return a lot of irrelevant and duplicate results since app listings from various country-specific iTunes stores are likely to show up as well.
If you want better App Store search without using iTunes, these two websites will serve your purpose.
Fnd
While the official website serves for browsing through the App Store, if you're trying to find something specific, then Fnd is a much better option. It has a much more robust search, and it lets you choose the country you want results from as well. This is what you need to do:
1. Open the Fnd website > enter your search query in the big search bar > hit Enter.
2. Now you'll see the top three search results in apps, music, movies, TV, books, Mac and podcasts. To see more results in any of these categories, you can either click the tab for the category, which is above the search results, or links such as "More Apps" that appear after the three results from the category.
3. Each search result has the name of the app in green and below that, you'll see the app's section, such as Social Networking. Next to this section you may see a tiny rectangle and/or a big rectangle. This is Fnd's way of showing whether the app is available on iPhone, iPad or both.
4. Clicking the name of the app in Fnd's search results shows you the app's App Store listing and YouTube videos related to the app. To the right of each search result and app listing is a box with a blue outline. This box mentions the price and has a small App Store icon. Click it to navigate to the app's page on Apple's website.
5. On the Fnd.io homepage, you can click the three horizontal lines on the top right to browse the App Store charts. You can search for top free apps, top paid apps and top grossing apps on the US App Store. On the top left of the homepage, click the country flag and select your country to search the App Store in your region.
Vionza
If you're looking for a specific app or want to browse the store, then these two methods are good enough. If you want fine control over the search results, then you need to use Vionza. For instance, if you want to only see apps priced between $0.99 and $3.99, or apps rated more than 4 stars, then Vionza is the best choice. This is how you make use of it:
1. Head to Vionza's iOS App Store search page. If you want to search for Mac apps, click here.
2. Type the name of the app in the search bar > hit Enter or click Search. Now you'll reach the results page. On the left-hand side, you'll see sliders for price and ratings.
3. Adjust the sliders to the price range, and rating range that you're looking for. For example, you could set it to find only free apps, or only top rated apps, or any combination in between.
4. Above the sliders, you will see two headers - Sort Apps By and Device Type. Here you can arrange results by relevance, name, price or rating. You can also filter results by device type - iPhone-only, iPad-only or universal apps.
5. Vionza only lets you search App Store pages from five regions - Australia, Canada, Germany, US and UK. Sadly, the Indian store isn't supported so you won't be able to see price in rupees.
6. Unlike Fnd and iTunes Preview, Vionza doesn't let you see App Store charts.
Both Vionza and Fnd work as advertised on mobile browsers too. If you want to search for iOS apps from an Android device or without opening the App Store app, either of these two services should do the job. We tried a few other services, but these were the best ways to search the App Store - if you have a better alternative, please let us know via comments.
For more such useful articles, you can visit our How to section.

How to Get Refunds on iTunes, App Store, Google Play, Windows Phone Store, BlackBerry World

Ever bought an app and then wondered - "what was I thinking!" Buying apps is easy, almost frictionless, and with credit card details saved on devices and purchases sometimes not even requiring authentication, there's a good chance people have made purchases they've come to regret later. If you've ever been in those shoes, we are here to help.
Follow these steps to get a refund on any device - and it's not just apps, you can also use this to get refunds for books, movies, music, and more.
iTunes and Mac App Store
Apple has a website dedicated to resolving refund-related issues. This website covers paid apps (on both iOS and Mac), in-app purchases, books, films and music. You can use this website to request a refund for purchases made in the last 90 days. Here's how.

1. Open Apple's Report a Problem website and sign in with your Apple ID.
2. You'll see a list of apps sorted by date of purchase. Use the search box to search for the purchase and click the "Report a Problem" button next to the app.
3. Select a reason for seeking a refund from the drop-down menu and write your reason in the message box. This can include your not authorising the purchase, or an item not downloading or installing, and more. Click Submit.
4. Now you'll have to wait. If Apple decides that your grievance is legitimate, you'll get a refund within 48 hours. You'll be contacted via mail on your Apple-registered email id, letting you know whether you are getting a refund or not. Members in our team have gotten refunds in this way.

Google Play
Android users have access to a great refund feature - Google reportedly lets you get a refund up to two hours after you bought the app, though the official documentation still lists the refund window as 15 minutes. During this period, you can get a refund by following these steps:

1. Open Google Play Store on your Android device > tap the Play Store icon > My Apps.
2. Choose the app you want a refund for and tap Refund. The process is automatic and works without a hitch.

Given how easy it is to get a refund this way, you should definitely try out any new apps as soon as you download them, to see if they are worth the money.

1. If it has been more than two hours since you bought the app, you need to request refunds via a Web browser. Check these steps.
2. Open Google Play and sign in.
3. Now hover your mouse over the app you want a refund for > click the three dots icon (next to the name of the app) > Report a problem.
4. Select "I'd like to request a refund" from the drop-down menu and write your reason in the message box below. Click Submit.

Now you have to wait for Google to judge whether your refund request should be accepted or not.

Windows Phone
Unlike iOS and Android, Windows Phone doesn't seem to have a clear-cut refund policy. We checked and all we could find on Windows Phone forums was a repeated suggestion to chat with the Windows Phone support team and ask them to refund.

1. Click this link and click on Chat. Sign in to to your Microsoft account.
2. Now describe your problem and click Submit. Once again, you'll have to wait for them to respond and depend on the company judging whether your grievance is genuine.

BlackBerry
BlackBerry has an official consumer support webpage where you can request refunds for apps by filling up a small form. You don't need to give a reason for asking for a refund in the form, just simple details like the order number and your phone PIN number:

1. Just open this page, fill the form and click Submit.
2. You're still dependent on BlackBerry to judge your case worthy of a refund. You will be contacted via email within 48 hours, where you can give more details about the reason for the refund request, and after that it is up to BlackBerry.

However, people seem to have mixed results with this. A lot of people have written in online forums saying that the refund was rejected. Most of the posts we found about successful refunds mention that the email from BlackBerry came within a few hours. We initiated an app refund of our own nearly 48 hours ago, but there has been no response from BlackBerry so far. We will update this if and when we get a response.
If all else fails, there is one more option you can try, though there is no guarantee that it will work. You can try writing to the developer of the app you want a refund for - in many cases, the developers themselves prefer to refund an app if there is a genuine problem, so it is always a good idea to ask. It's probably best to try the official methods first though, especially since developers don't have a way of 'refunding' money back to the card you paid with, and anything they can do will be a bit of a workaround.
Since refunds largely depend on the judgement of the person reviewing the request, it is best not to seek a refund when not justified. Some comments on forums mention that asking for refunds frequently led to emails from Apple which specifically state this as a reason for denying the request. If you've accidentally purchased an app, or an app doesn't work as advertised, you should of course apply for a refund, but it's best to exercise more caution before making a payment, than afterwards - don't use it as a way of 'try before buy' though.
We hope this helped you get a refund for apps you didn't intend to buy. Share your app refund experiences via the comments and visit our How to section for more useful articles.

How to Find the Best iOS App Deals

Everyone loves a good discount when buying stuff and most of us check various websites to find the best deals when shopping for products online, so why should apps be any different? If you're looking for apps to go free so you can get them without using a debit card, or looking for deals and discounts because you're not sure an app is worth buying, there are a lot of different methods you can employ to get the best deals.
It might seem miserly to seek deals on apps considering that most apps sell for Rs. 60 or Rs. 120 - less than a cup of coffee in many places. But as some of the members of our team can attest, the small spends add up, and you could end up spending several thousand rupees over the course of a year. At that point, you're really going to wish you'd looked for deals before making your purchases.
(Also see:Never Pay MRP: 3 Browser Extensions That Will Help You Save Money)
We'll be bringing the best deals we can find to you every week, but in case you want to find deals yourself, here's what you need to know:
iOS
AppShopper
There are plenty of websites that show the best deals for iOS and Mac users, but AppShopper is our favourite, just ahead of 148apps. Between the two, we preferred AppShopper because its search is easier to customise, and lets you find apps according to category.
To see the discounts, you need only click on the "Price Drops" button in the top right. You can choose between iOS and Mac, or iPad only, iPhone only and Universal apps. You also have the option of searching for discounts and apps that have gone free, through simple toggles along the top bar.
In case you want to watch for price drops on favourite apps, then you can also sign up for AppShopper and add apps to your wishlist.

TouchArcade
Unlike AppShopper, which is mostly useful for finding deals, TouchArcade is a game focused site where you'll get reviews and in-depth forum discussions about iOS games. It's a great way to also figure out what you should be downloading. The site also has a very useful app that lets you track sales on games as well. You can set it up with the following steps:
1. Download TouchArcade and open the app. Tap the gear icon on the top left > Watch List Updates > On > tap Done at the top.
2. Tap the search button on the top-right and search for your favourite games. Tap the game in the results. This will take you to Touch Arcade's page for the game. Here, flip the binocular switch under the price. Now you'll see the binoculars on a blue background. This means the game has been added to your watch list. Any time there is a price drop, or a review or an update to the games you added, you'll get a notification. TouchArcade notifications don't come if you haven't opened the app for several days, so just open it once every couple of days to keep it active.
(Also see: How to Save Money on Google Play Store Apps)

AppPriceDrop
If you just want a simple list of apps that have gone on discount, then TouchArcade and AppShopper aren't useful enough. You'll need to get either the Appsgonefree or AppPriceDrop apps.
AppsGoneFree updates once a day with a short list of apps on discount, sort of like the Yahoo News Digest of discounts. AppPriceDrop on the other hand shows a list of all apps that have gotten a discount, which can be sorted by category. It is based on the US app store, so while it should still be useful, it might sometimes show something as discounted, which isn't even available here.
(Also see: How to Save Big on Windows Phone, BB10, Windows, and Mac Apps)
IFTTT
IFTTT, short for If This Then That, is a great service that lets you automate several tasks. You can make it do several things, such as send you alerts when the currency exchange rate crosses a threshold, for you. It has a channel called AppZapp, which lets you track app deals for top-rated apps. Here's how to set it up.
1. Go to IFTTT > Create a Recipe.
2. You'll see this in huge font size: "if this then that". Click "this" > select AppZapp > scroll to the bottom > select one of six triggers.
3. Triggers are events that tell IFTTT to send you an alert. In the case of AppZapp, the triggers you can choose from are when a top-rated app goes on sale, goes free or gets an update. These three triggers are available for Apple's App Store and Google Play store. Pick the trigger you want to get relevant alerts, such as top app gone free.
4. Now choose your country, device and category of apps you want an alert for. Now click Create Recipe.
5. The next step will show you the same text you saw in step 2. Instead of "this", you'll see the AppZapp icon. Now click on "that". This is where you select the kind of alerts you want. We recommend that you pick one of Email Digest, Android notifications and iOS notifications. This will send you one email every day or a quick notification on your smartphone. You need to install the IFTTT app on your phone to get this to work.
We found this to be the best method to keep an eye on apps on sale or apps that go free due to the notifications. You can tap these notifications, tap the alert in the IFTTT app and you will be redirected to the App Store. This method also works for Google Play. We have also written about more resources you can browse when looking for deals on Android apps. Our How to section has many more useful articles, so make sure you check it out too.