Have you ever been deceived by in-app subscriptions, especially when you have one loved one app so much? While we are pretty sure that the answer to this would come out to be yes by everyone, Google has planned for an update in subscription policy that from now onwards more transparency for in-app subscription would be mandatory.
Upon making the announcement through a blog post, Angela Ying, Google Play's Product Manager, has stated that the company wants its users to trust the app available on the platform more and to make that possible, clear instructions regarding the subscription plans can play an integral role.
The list based on “best practices” for the developers primarily includes the perks that one will get by subscribing - it can either be using some special parts of the app or all of it, cost of subscriptions, the billing and renewing cycle, and other terms of the offers more open.
Furthermore, to provide more clarification on violations, Google also has a list in the Policy Center that states if a developer doesn’t inform the users about automatic renewals and monthly charges, they might have to face a strict penalty in return.
Google wants to eliminate the need of following extra steps, majorly downloading the app, to get the similar information and all of the developers are required to comply with the updated policy before 16th June 2020.
In case of developers who want to offer free trials and introductory offers, they are required to inform the users about the duration, pricing, inclusions, end date of free trial and beginning of paid subscription. Besides that, Google also wants developers to provide instructions on terminating the trial offer as well if they decide to not go for the paid subscription. On the other hand, if one has already subscribed to the in-app offer, the developer should disclose how one can cancel or manage it.
Google wants to cut down misleading subscriptions that have been tricking users into spending a large chunk of their money for useless advantages. The giant search engine has even made all the necessary improvements in the checkout cart as well which looks more transparent than ever.
Moreover, if a user is on a free trial, he will now get email reminders about the status of the introductory offer. Google will also keep the renewal reminders more active for users that have 3-month, 6-month, or annual plans with certain apps.
Any new app or update will only go up on Google if it complies with the stated policy effective from 16th April.
Read next: Scam apps found in the Apple's App Store resulted in many users facing financial frauds
Upon making the announcement through a blog post, Angela Ying, Google Play's Product Manager, has stated that the company wants its users to trust the app available on the platform more and to make that possible, clear instructions regarding the subscription plans can play an integral role.
The list based on “best practices” for the developers primarily includes the perks that one will get by subscribing - it can either be using some special parts of the app or all of it, cost of subscriptions, the billing and renewing cycle, and other terms of the offers more open.
Furthermore, to provide more clarification on violations, Google also has a list in the Policy Center that states if a developer doesn’t inform the users about automatic renewals and monthly charges, they might have to face a strict penalty in return.
Google wants to eliminate the need of following extra steps, majorly downloading the app, to get the similar information and all of the developers are required to comply with the updated policy before 16th June 2020.
In case of developers who want to offer free trials and introductory offers, they are required to inform the users about the duration, pricing, inclusions, end date of free trial and beginning of paid subscription. Besides that, Google also wants developers to provide instructions on terminating the trial offer as well if they decide to not go for the paid subscription. On the other hand, if one has already subscribed to the in-app offer, the developer should disclose how one can cancel or manage it.
Google wants to cut down misleading subscriptions that have been tricking users into spending a large chunk of their money for useless advantages. The giant search engine has even made all the necessary improvements in the checkout cart as well which looks more transparent than ever.
Moreover, if a user is on a free trial, he will now get email reminders about the status of the introductory offer. Google will also keep the renewal reminders more active for users that have 3-month, 6-month, or annual plans with certain apps.
Any new app or update will only go up on Google if it complies with the stated policy effective from 16th April.
Read next: Scam apps found in the Apple's App Store resulted in many users facing financial frauds
