EU law gives you 14 days to withdraw from a digital purchase, but that right ends once delivery starts if you consented to immediate delivery and acknowledged the loss. Local Waifu adds a voluntary 30-day money-back guarantee that does not depend on either.
Two refund clocks run on a Local Waifu purchase, and they do not agree with each other. EU consumer law gives you 14 days to withdraw from a digital purchase. The Terms for this app add 30 days on top of that, no questions asked. If you are standing at checkout wondering what happens when the app turns out not to be for you, the number that matters is the longer one, and you will not have to argue for it.
Here is how each clock actually runs.
The 14-day right is real, and delivery can end it early
The short version: You have 14 days to change your mind, but for digital content the window closes once delivery starts, provided you consented to immediate delivery and acknowledged losing the right.
The statutory right starts simple. Buy at a distance, and you get 14 days to withdraw, no reason required. That is the baseline every consumer in the EU works from.
Digital content is where it bends. When the product is delivered immediately rather than on a disc, the law lets that window close as soon as delivery starts, on two conditions. You have to give prior express consent to immediate delivery, and you have to acknowledge that consenting means losing the right of withdrawal. Both conditions have to be met. This is not a loophole invented by one app; it is how EU consumer law treats a download.
Both consents happen at checkout, before your card is charged
The short version: The checkout asks for consent to immediate delivery and an acknowledgment that the withdrawal right ends, then charges the card, so the 14-day right on downloaded software is normally spent at the moment of purchase.
The published policy lives in section 5 of the Terms on this site. There is no separate refund page, which is deliberate: one document, one place to read it. The Terms state the 14-day right, then state that for digital content the right ceases after delivery has started when the consumer gave prior express consent to immediate execution and acknowledged losing the right of withdrawal.
Dodo’s checkout collects both consents before it processes payment. By the time money moves, the consent and the acknowledgment are already recorded, and the 14-day statutory window is the one that closes. I would rather name that plainly than let you find it later.
The 30-day guarantee is the layer that covers regret
The short version: Local Waifu adds a voluntary 30-day money-back guarantee on top of the law, no questions asked, handled by email, and it does not depend on the consents you gave at checkout.
On top of the statutory layer, the Terms offer a voluntary 30-day money-back guarantee. The wording is no questions asked, and refunds are handled by email rather than through a support wizard.
That guarantee is broader than the 14-day right and does not depend on either consent. Consent to immediate delivery ends the statutory clock. It does not touch the voluntary one, which is a promise from the seller and enforced by email. If you bought the app, gave it an honest two weeks, and decided she is not the companion you wanted, this is the layer that covers it.
Asking takes one email and four lines
The short version: Fill in the withdrawal form with your name, address, order reference and a sentence saying you withdraw, email it to contact@localwaifu.com inside 14 days, and the full price goes back to your payment method within 14 days.
The site has a printable template at the withdrawal form. It is the standard Annex II withdrawal form: your name, your address, an order reference including the Dodo order id if you have it, and a statement that you are withdrawing from the purchase. That goes to contact@localwaifu.com within 14 days of purchase.
What the page commits to: the full purchase price is reimbursed to the same payment method you used at checkout, within 14 days. You do not need to explain yourself and you do not need screenshots. The email does not have to be formal. Four lines carrying the four items above is enough.
Inside the 30-day window the same email works, and you can simply say you want a refund under the 30-day guarantee. Same order reference, same address, same inbox.
A refund revokes the key, and your install may not notice by itself
The short version: A refund kills the key at Dodo, but there is no recurring background check, so an install can keep running until you re-redeem or open Settings, License, which forces a fresh check.
When a refund is processed, the licence is revoked on the merchant side. That part is immediate, and it happens at Dodo rather than inside the app.
The part worth being honest about: the app does not currently check for refunded licences on a schedule. An existing install can keep running after the refund, because nothing in the background is asking Dodo whether the key is still valid. That check happens when you re-redeem a key, or when you manage devices in Settings, License, which forces a fresh request against Dodo. If you want to know the current state of your licence, open Settings, License and look.
Continuing to use a licence after it has been refunded violates the Terms. Nobody is watching your install in the background, but that does not make a refunded install yours to keep, and I would rather you hear it from me than be surprised later.
After 30 days, refunds are case by case
The short version: There is no automatic refund after day 30 and later requests are handled case by case, but the 7-day trial needs no card, so you can test the decision before it becomes a payment.
Past the 30-day window there is no blanket promise, and a request after that point is handled case by case. That is the honest shape of it, and it is worth weighing against what the purchase actually is.
Local Waifu is $20 once for a lifetime licence, with a 7-day trial that needs no card and a 3-device limit per key. You can find out whether she runs well on your machine before you pay anything. That removes most of the risk a refund policy normally has to absorb. The numbers sit on the pricing page, and the comparison against a year of subscriptions is in what $300 a year buys.
Most companion apps make this harder than they need to be
The short version: By their own published terms, Replika calls purchases final, Nomi publishes no refunds for a change of mind, Candy AI allows 24 hours with a 20-token limit, and Character.AI is non-refundable unless the law requires otherwise.
The refund terms the big names publish are worth reading before you compare anything, because the differences are not small. Replika states in its own terms that purchases are final, and that deleting the app does not cancel a subscription. Nomi publishes no refunds for a change of mind. Candy AI allows 24 hours and denies the refund if more than 20 tokens were used. Character.AI says payments are non-refundable except where the law requires otherwise.
I am not throwing stones at their business models. A cloud app pays for servers every month, so a cancelled subscription costs it money in a way a one-time local purchase does not. Still, if your worry is “what if I hate it,” those terms tell you where you stand. The other half of that question, what the free tiers actually cost you, is in the real price of free AI girlfriend apps.
What this guarantee is not
The short version: One person answers the email rather than a team, Dodo processes the refund as merchant of record, business buyers do not get the same statutory rights as consumers, and this is consumer information rather than legal advice.
The 30-day guarantee comes from one person rather than a support team, so a reply is not instant even when the answer is yes. Refunds are processed through Dodo as merchant of record rather than by the app itself, which is why your order reference speeds everything up. And this article is consumer information rather than legal advice. If your situation is complicated, especially if you are buying on behalf of a company, talk to someone qualified.
On that last point: business buyers do not have the same statutory withdrawal rights as consumers. The 14-day right described above is a consumer right, and a purchase made for a business does not carry it. The voluntary 30-day guarantee is offered to consumers on the same basis. If you are buying for a company, the terms of that sale are what apply, and section 5 of the Terms is the place to start.
Questions people ask
Can I get a refund after I have already downloaded the app?
Yes. The voluntary 30-day money-back guarantee applies whether or not you installed the app. The 14-day EU right of withdrawal normally ends at checkout instead, because Dodo collects consent to immediate delivery and an acknowledgment that the right is lost before it processes payment.
How long does a refund take, and where does the money go?
The withdrawal page states that the full purchase price is reimbursed to the same payment method you used at checkout, within 14 days. Send the request to contact@localwaifu.com with your order reference and the Dodo order id if you have it.
What happens to my licence key after a refund?
The licence is revoked on the merchant side, at Dodo. The app does not currently check for refunded licences on a schedule, so an install can keep running until you re-redeem a key or open Settings, License, which forces a fresh check against Dodo. Continuing to use a refunded licence violates the Terms.
Do I need a reason to ask for my money back?
No. The 30-day guarantee is described in the Terms as no questions asked, and the printable form at /withdrawal-form asks only for your name, address, an order reference, and a statement that you are withdrawing from the purchase.
Do business buyers have the same refund rights?
No. The 14-day right of withdrawal described here is a consumer right, and a purchase made for a business does not carry it. The voluntary 30-day guarantee is offered to consumers on the same basis. This article is consumer information rather than legal advice.
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