I believe the real answer is that they do keep it (at least sometimes) for chargebacks but not for regular refunds. I've seen the discrepancy in our own accoun

I believe the real answer is that they do keep it (at least sometimes) for chargebacks but not for regular refunds. I've seen the discrepancy in our own accounting, and as mentioned elsewhere, it's in the App Store terms. But Apple's dashboard doesn't show a clear difference between chargeback and refund, and maybe that's where the story originated. HN won't let me amend my comment above, but I stand by the claim that this happens on chargebacks. Otherwise the App Store Connect numbers don't add up. I think the truth has some nuance, but that doesn't work on the internet, it's got to be either an outrageous story or "total fake news".