Kindle users on Android cannot renew their Kindle Unlimited subscription or buy books using the Kindle Android app, Amazon has told customers in an email.
Amazon is taking this step because of Google’s plan to boot apps that don’t use the Play Store billing system for in-app purchases. Since Amazon won’t be using the Android app to renew subscriptions and make purchases, people will have to pay on a web browser and then access the books through the app’s digital library.
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Amazon said it was a necessary step “to remain in compliance with the updated Google Play Store policies.” Google said in 2020 that apps must use the Google Play billing system to charge users for in-app purchases that include digital content in addition to subscription services. Developers are also required to use the Google Play billing system for a free app and for upgraded versions of cloud services.
However, the billing system will not be used for the sale of physical goods such as groceries and clothing in the App, or for peer-to-peer payments or purchases made in the gambling app.
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Google charges 15 percent commission on transactions made on the Play Store billing system. It was 30 percent earlier, but it was halved amid growing sentiment against Google and Apple’s unfair fees to developers.
The new policy expires today, and Google will remove all apps that haven’t complied with the new system. Amazon has already implemented the changes to the Kindle app for Android, and the app displays a notification that in-app purchases are not available. In addition to the Kindle app, Amazon has also disabled in-app purchases on the Audible and Amazon Music apps.
Also read: Older Amazon Kindle devices will stop supporting the e-book store, but here’s what you can do.
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