Good resource, awful design and business practices – Oxford Dictionary Review

I used this app most days before the most recent update overhauled the design and purchase model. I bought the full version, and it was excellent and absolutely worth it. Had I reviewed it at the time I would have given it 5 stars. The most recent update, and the hoops they make you jump through to redeem something you already purchased, are atrocious. The app would not allow me to redeem my previously-purchased membership the intended way, giving me the message that it was “purchased with another iTunes account,” when I was able to find my receipt through iTunes easily. I put in a support ticket on the app developer’s website and got no response after over a week. The only thing that worked was uninstalling and reinstalling the app, which completely wipes the words you’ve “favorited” over time. Luckily, I took screenshots because I suspected that might happen, and I was 100% correct in my assumption. I used this app for years going through college, and I favorited words I had never encountered before. Those words I saved over several years would have been completely lost to me had I not suspected it would do that. The free version as it is now is essentially worthless if you plan to use this app while reading anything with more complex language. You get one(!) word search a day in the free version, and the ads are both distracting and annoying. If you have the money to pay for the (in my opinion, quite expensive) subscription as it is now, it’s probably worth it. If you’re a student, see if your school has a subscription you can access for free. If you do not have the income, are not attending college, and are in need of a dictionary, get some other app or a physical dictionary. In a world where every service imaginable wants monthly charges from you, the trouble and gatekeeping of knowledge behind ludicrous amounts of money isn’t worth it.
Review by Fibinock on Oxford Dictionary.