Expired app issue

SiliconChip

I have been using an app since late 2025 to check in every day before a set time (noon in my case), if I don't check in then a text is sent to a specified number to alert them that I may be lying at the foot of the stairs with a broken leg.

When I came to check in yesterday instead of getting the normal app screen I see a GoDaddy screen to say that the app has expired and is available on GoDaddy Auctions. That means I can't check in, and as a result the alert was sent out yesterday (and I'm guessing again today although I haven't asked my emergency contact yet).

I sent an email to the app contact address but that has bounced back with a timeout of the connection to the app domain. I have no other way to contact the app owner.

Despite the app not being accessible I still get a notification 30 minutes before the check in time to remind me to check in.

My assumption is that the app owner has abandoned it but left the back end processing running. If that situation doesn't change I have 2 questions:

1. My emergency contact intends to block the number sending the alert text, is that the best way for them to stop receiving it?
2. If I uninstall the app is that likely to stop the notifications that I'm getting (i.e. are they coming from the app on my phone or from the back end on the server)?

One other thing is that I paid Google £29.99 in January 2026 for 1 year access to the app, as it's no longer working is there any chance of getting 25% of my money back for the unused time?

If it helps to know the name of the app I'm happy to included it, but if it's not necessary I'll leave it out.

Edited to add that my emergency contact has not received an alert today, which makes me think that the back end has ceased to work too.

Vitor

It sounds as though the app itself hasn’t “expired” as such. More likely the developer has failed to renew the domain name the app relies on, which is why you are now seeing a GoDaddy auction/parking page. That would also explain the bounced email.

Given that you paid Google £29.99 for a year’s access and the service has stopped working during that period, I’d still raise it through Google Play. In the complaint, I’d say the service is unusable because the developer’s domain has lapsed and attempts to contact them are failing.

SiliconChip

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82155213#Comment_82155213

Yes, I used the term "expired" as that's what GoDaddy have used but it seems likely that you're right about the cause. This has come a couple of weeks after another issue where it appeared that a database had run out of space and more needed to be paid for, which did happen but does suggest there may have been a funding issue.

Thanks for the suggestion to raise it through Google Play, I'll do that and let everyone know whether I get anywhere - it's only £7.50 so not a big deal but it's annoying to have it stop working part way through a paid for period.

SiliconChip

I uninstalled the app today and as I hoped I didn't receive any notification about missing the check in. What I'd like to do is notify Google that the app no longer works so that it should be removed from the Play store so that nobody else tries to download it, but I can't see any obvious way to do that, anyone got any ideas?

JSmithy45AD

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82156424#Comment_82156424

https://support.google.com/googleplay/answer/15574897?sjid=1338212386098602233-EU perhaps?

SiliconChip

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82156717#Comment_82156717

Thanks for the link, I've submitted a refund request and suggested that the app is removed from the Play Store, we'll see if anything happens.

SiliconChip

Google have rejected my refund request, and while it's not entirely clear why I think it's probably because they expect the developer to make any refund. I have managed to track down from Companies House the name and address of the person who owns the limited company that developed the app so I now need to decide whether it's worth expending any time and effort in following it up.

Neil_Jones

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82158555#Comment_82158555

If the company has gone into administration you'll be back of the queue for any refund and be lucky to get anything at all. Compared to the likes of HRMC, the bank and anybody else more important (with all due respect) than you in the pecking order.

JSmithy45AD

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82158555#Comment_82158555

For £7.50 I'd suggest you've already expended too much time and effort.