Google is planning to push harder for developers on its Google Play Store to give the company a its 30 percent commission on in-app purchases, according to a report citing sources close to the matter. According to the Bloomberg report, Google plans to issue an updated set of guidelines by next week that will clarify a requirement for most apps to use Google’s billing service for in-app content downloads, upgrades, and subscriptions. Google requires developers to give it a 30 percent cut of in-app purchases if the app is downloaded via Google Play Store.
Now, this is not a new development from Google. This requirement has existed for years but apps have found ways to circumvent the rule. Popular streaming apps like Netflix and Spotify, for example, prompt customers to pay using a credit card within the app instead of using their Play Store account. Last year, dating app Tinder also took a similar approach, the Bloomberg report said. The report says that developers who are currently not in compliance with this guideline will be given time to update their apps. “For developers who choose to distribute their apps on Google Play, our policy has always required them to use Play’s billing system if they offer in-app purchases,” a Google spokesperson was quoted by Bloomberg as saying.
Apple and Google both have the same requirements for in-app purchases on apps on their stores. Both companies generate billions of dollars in high-margin revenue each year because of in-app purchases. In fact, Apple’s implementation of the policy is stricter than Google. Apple does not let developers redirect users to outside websites to subscribe. Services like Spotify and Netflix, hence ask users to subscribe or sign up on their website and then log in to the app on their Apple device.
This in-app purchases commission that companies like Google and Apple charge for launching apps on their app markets has been in the talks for some time. Most recently, a feud between Fortnite maker Epic Games and Apple gained a lot of attention for similar reasons. Epic Games accused Apple of using its position to bully developers into paying the commission. The company’s Fortnite was also pulled from both Apple App Store and Google Play Store after Epic Games sued the two giants for unfair practices and introduced a method that paid Epic directly. Many tech companies and developers voiced their support towards Epic Games.
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