14 DAY TRIAL // Google is longer accepting paid extensions in the Google Chrome Web Store, with the search giant telling developers that there are other methods to monetize such add-ons.
The search company originally disabled the publishing of paid extensions in the Chrome Web Store back in March, and the firm said the decision was only temporary.
But starting with September 21, devs can no longer create new paid extensions or in-app items, and the aforementioned temporary change has become permanent. Beginning with December 1, 2020, all free trials are disabled and the Try Now button will no longer be visible. Trials will just end with an error, Google warns.
Furthermore, charging money with Chrome Web Store payments will be blocked in February, and Google says that it plans to pull the licensing API’s capability to determine license status for users at some point in the future.
“The web has come a long way in the 11 years since we launched the Chrome Web Store. Back then, we wanted to provide a way for developers to monetize their Web Store items. But in the years since, the ecosystem has grown and developers now have many payment-handling options available to them,” Google says.
Just one option for developers
As far as the developers are concerned, the only option is to just switch to another method to monetize extensions, Google explains.
“If you don’t use Chrome Web Store payments to monetize your extension, then this does not affect you and you don’t have to do anything. If you use Chrome Web Store payments to charge for your extension or in-app purchases, you’ll need to migrate to another payments processor in the near future. If you use the licensing API to keep track of who has paid, you’ll need to implement another way of tracking user licenses,” the company explains in an announcement.