Google has announced on Monday plans to permanently shut down the Chrome Web Shop “Payments API.”
This is the process that Google was applying to take care of payments on the Internet Store, these kinds of as one-time costs, monthly subscriptions, and absolutely free trials for industrial Chrome extensions.
The go to shut down the Payments API — and efficiently assistance for Chrome compensated extensions — will come after reports of common fraud previous winter.
Google originally reacted by suspending the capacity to publish and update Chrome compensated extensions in January, and later briefly disabled the overall Payments API in March.
Originally, Google promised to crack down on the fraudulent actors, but on Monday, in a shock announcement, the firm did the opposite by shutting down the Website Retail store payments system as an alternative.
Google is now asking extension builders to migrate their extensions to use a 3rd-social gathering, non-Web Retail outlet payments processor.
Considering that the Payments API has been down due to the fact March, Google claimed it’s not arranging on bringing it back again on. Going ahead, Google furnished the subsequent timeline:
- Sept. 21, 2020: You can no lengthier generate new paid out extensions or in-application goods. This alter, in effect given that March 2020, is now long-lasting.
- Dec. 1, 2020: Free trials are disabled. The “Attempt Now” button in CWS will no for a longer time be obvious, and in-application absolutely free demo requests will final result in an error.
- Feb. 1, 2021: Your present merchandise and in-application buys can no for a longer time cost cash with Chrome World-wide-web Retailer payments. You can nonetheless question license details for previously paid out purchases and subscriptions. (The licensing API will precisely reflect the standing of lively subscriptions, but these subscriptions won’t vehicle-renew.)
- At some long term time: The licensing API will no for a longer period allow for you to establish license status for your users.
Graphic: Google
Google’s shift has sparked some outrage amid the Chrome extensions developer local community. Mainly because Google won’t present aspects on shelling out prospects to extension owners, several builders are now going through a circumstance the place they may well not be equipped to migrate their complete userbases to their new payments processor of alternative.
If you have created a bootstrapped or a way of living company on the Chrome Extension retail store and have made use of their payments API, you now have to scramble to integrate an substitute service provider and hope that you can come across a way to get to your buyers so they can proceed their subscription.
— Arvid Kahl (@arvidkahl) September 22, 2020