Is ReelShort Legit and Safe? 4.7 Stars, Non-Refundable Coins

ReelShort is a real company's app, sold on both stores and rated 4.69 from 511,840 App Store ratings. So is ReelShort legit? Yes, and the real decision is about money: its terms make every coin and subscription payment non-refundable, so know where to cancel before you pay.

TL;DR: Legit: the App Store and Google Play sell it under New Leaf Publishing, Inc.; its terms name Crazy Maple Studios Inc. in California. Apple rates it 12+; its own terms say 18+. Purchases run $4.99 to $29.99 on the App Store; coins and subscriptions are "final and non-refundable" per the terms, unless ReelShort decides otherwise. Cancel in your phone's store settings, a day before billing. Checked Oct 21, 2026.

As of Oct 21, 2026: ratings, prices and terms as the stores and ReelShort listed them that day. Both change; we recheck and log changes below.

Key Takeaways

• Who runs it: New Leaf Publishing, Inc. on both stores; Crazy Maple Studios Inc. in ReelShort's terms.
• Ratings: 4.69 on the App Store (511,840 ratings), 3.8 on Google Play (1.94M reviews).
• Age: 12+ in Apple's data, 13+ on the App Store page, Teen on Google Play, 18+ in the terms.
• Money: coins and subscriptions are non-refundable under the terms.
• Cancel: in iPhone Settings or Google Play subscriptions. Deleting the app cancels nothing.

Graphic: ShortDramaDesk, from the App Store, Apple's iTunes Lookup API and ReelShort's terms, Oct 21.

Overview: is ReelShort legit, by the record

Start with who is selling it. Apple's lookup data lists the seller as "New Leaf Publishing, Inc.", and Google Play gives the same developer with an address in Dover, Delaware. ReelShort's own terms say: "We are Crazy Maple Studios Inc. a company registered in [California, USA]", with a registered office in Sunnyvale. The square brackets are in the terms. The site's footer also reads Crazy Maple Studio. Neither listing explains how the two company names relate, so we leave it there.

The app is not new. It has been on the US App Store since August 2022, and its latest version came out on Sep 28. Variety, citing the research firm Media Partners Asia, reported revenue of $785 million in 2025 and a projection of $1.05 billion for 2026. Those figures come from a research firm, not from ReelShort's own accounts.

Table: ShortDramaDesk, from the App Store, iTunes Lookup and Google Play listings, Oct 21.

Our ReelShort app page keeps the same store numbers with their history, next to 17 other apps.

Is ReelShort safe for your data and your kids?

Both stores carry privacy labels the developer fills in. Apple's page says so itself: "This information has not been verified by Apple." On that label, ReelShort declares "Identifiers" as data used to track you, and usage data, user content and a device ID as data linked to you. Google Play's Data safety section says "No data shared with third parties", that data is encrypted in transit, and that you can ask for it to be deleted.

Age is the odd part. Apple rates the app 12+ in its lookup data and 13+ on the store page. Google Play says Teen. ReelShort's terms go further: "The Service is strictly for consumers and not for use by users under 18 years of age." Three ratings, one app. For a teenager's phone, the terms are the strictest line, and some ReelShort titles carry mature tags on their own pages.

GODEEPER: How ReelShort's age rating, prices and ratings compare with the other big apps. Best Short Drama Apps Compared: 13 Apps, One Coin Price →

Analysis: where the money goes

ReelShort is free to download and paid to finish. The App Store page shows 10 purchase rows: three "Subscription" rows at $19.99 and seven one-time purchases from $4.99 to $29.99. The listing's description says "The subscription is billed weekly" and that it renews "within 24 hours before the start of each subscription period until you cancel".

Chart: ShortDramaDesk, from ReelShort's App Store page, Oct 21.

The terms then close the refund door: "all sales of Virtual Currency and Virtual Goods are final and non-refundable, except as determined by Crazy Maple Studio in its sole and absolute discretion." Subscriptions get the same treatment. If you close your account, or ReelShort closes it for a breach or shuts the service, "all Virtual Currency and Virtual Goods will be forfeited by you."

What a drama costs is our arithmetic. ReelShort's coin guide says "a standard episode usually costs 60 coins", and its packs start at $4.99 for 500 coins.

Desk note: Across the 106 ReelShort dramas in our catalog (Mature titles left out), the median gives 9 free episodes and costs $19.98 in coins to finish, by our math. That is one cent less than a $19.99 subscription row. One drama or one week: the price tag is the same twenty dollars.

Our cost calculator runs the sum for any ReelShort title, and what it costs to finish a short drama explains the method.

How to cancel ReelShort and ask for a refund

Cancel where you paid. Most viewers pay through the store, and the store holds the subscription.

Table: ShortDramaDesk, from Apple's and Google's help pages and ReelShort's terms, Oct 21.

1. iPhone: Apple's help page gives four steps. "In Settings, tap your name." Tap Subscriptions, tap the subscription, then tap Cancel Subscription.
2. Android: Google's steps start with "go to subscriptions in Google Play", then select the subscription and tap Cancel subscription.
3. Billed by ReelShort itself: the terms say "log in to your app account, go to the VIP page, and follow the clearly displayed Subscription Management instructions."
4. Timing: the terms want the request "on or before the day prior to the applicable billing date." Cancel on the billing day and you pay that period.

Deleting the app does not count. Google says it plainly: "When you uninstall the app, your subscription won't cancel."

For a refund, the terms leave it to ReelShort's discretion, so the store is the practical route. Apple takes requests at reportaproblem.apple.com and says to "Wait 24 to 48 hours for an update". Google says that within 48 hours of a purchase "You may be able to get a refund"; after that, it sends you to the developer.

GODEEPER: How ReelShort's prices compare with DramaBox, which publishes none. ReelShort vs DramaBox: One Publishes a Price, One Does Not →

What viewers say

The newest App Store reviews split on exactly this point. Of eight one-star reviews dated Oct 19 in Apple's feed, four were about charges after cancelling, or trying to, and three said the ads had promised it free. A five-star one the same day was about the free route.

• "Still being charge after I cancelled and deleted the app." (App Store review, Oct 19)
• "They do what they say, if you watch the ads you unlock episodes. Fair." (App Store review, Oct 19)

Those are single reports, not a measured rate. The first one also matches Google's warning: deleting the app is not cancelling.

Our take

Install it; cancel in your store settings, a day before billing, before you ever start a subscription. The seller is a named company on both stores, with 511,840 App Store ratings behind the 4.69. The risk is billing, because the terms make coins and subscriptions non-refundable. If you only watch the free episodes, a median of 9 per drama in our catalog, you pay nothing. We recheck the listings and the terms every 30 days.

What we don't know yet

• How New Leaf Publishing, Inc. and Crazy Maple Studios Inc. are related: no listing or page we read says.
• Which of the three $19.99 subscription rows is the weekly plan: the App Store shows no item names.
• Why Apple's data says 12+ while the store page says 13+.

How we checked this

On Oct 21, 2026 we read ReelShort's App Store page, Apple's iTunes Lookup record, the Google Play listing, ReelShort's terms of use (one page, by hand), Apple's and Google's help pages on cancelling and refunds, and the newest App Store reviews through Apple's public feed. Revenue figures come from Variety. We did not subscribe or buy coins. ShortDramaDesk is in ReelShort's partner program (RS Boost), so some ReelShort links on our drama pages earn a commission; that changes no number here, and we give ReelShort no score.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is ReelShort a scam? No source we read calls it one. ReelShort is sold on the App Store and Google Play by New Leaf Publishing, Inc., rated 4.69 from 511,840 App Store ratings on Oct 21, and its terms name Crazy Maple Studios Inc. in California. The risk is billing: its terms make coin and subscription payments non-refundable.

Is ReelShort free? Free to download, not free to finish. The App Store page says "Free" with "In-App Purchases", and lists purchases from $4.99 to $29.99. On the 106 ReelShort dramas in our catalog, the median is 9 free episodes, and finishing costs a median $19.98 in coins by our math.

How do I cancel a ReelShort subscription on iPhone? In Apple's settings, not in the app. Apple's help page says: in Settings, tap your name, tap Subscriptions, tap the subscription, then Cancel Subscription. ReelShort's terms add a deadline for its own billing: cancel "on or before the day prior to the applicable billing date".

Can I get a refund from ReelShort? ReelShort's terms say coin purchases and subscription payments are "final and non-refundable", except at its own discretion. Store purchases have the store's own route: Apple takes requests at reportaproblem.apple.com, and Google says you may get one within 48 hours of buying.

What age is ReelShort for? The stores and the terms disagree. Apple's lookup data rates ReelShort 12+, its App Store page shows 13+, and Google Play shows Teen. ReelShort's own terms say the service is "not for use by users under 18 years of age".

Does deleting ReelShort cancel the subscription? No. Google's help page says "When you uninstall the app, your subscription won't cancel." On iPhone the subscription lives in Apple's settings too, so deleting the app leaves it running. Cancel in the store first, then delete the app if you want.

Related Reading

• What Are AI Short Dramas? 8 of 20 ReelShort Titles Say AI: how ReelShort labels its AI titles.
• Where to Watch Just One Kiss: 11 Free Episodes on ReelShort: one ReelShort drama, its paywall and its price.

References

• ReelShort on the App Store: apps.apple.com
• Apple iTunes Lookup: ReelShort record
• ReelShort on Google Play: play.google.com
• ReelShort terms of use: reelshort.com/web-terms.html
• ReelShort coin guide: reelshort.com/fandom/reelshort-coins
• Apple Support: If you want to cancel a subscription from Apple
• Apple Support: Request a refund for apps or content
• Google Play Help: Cancel, pause, or change a subscription
• Google Play Help: Refunds on Google Play
• Variety: ReelShort revenue and profit, Media Partners Asia