Amazon stops selling e-books on Android app amid new Google Play policy

San Francisco, May 7

As Google prepares to require all app developers on Play Store to comply with its new billing policy, Amazon is turning off digital book purchases via its Android app.

According to a report by ArsTechnica, users planning to buy ebooks on the Amazon app on Android are directed to a new screen that says ‘Why can’t I buy on the app?’ If you update the Amazon app, you’ll get a notification that says purchasing digital products on the Android app is unavailable.

Amazon removed digital book buying support from iOS devices back in 2011 as per Apple App Store billing policies.

The Amazon app on Google Play Store now shows a pop-up that says, “To remain in compliance with the Google Play Store policies, you will no longer be able to buy new content from the app. You can build a reading list on the app and buy on the Amazon website from your browser.” All app developers selling digital goods and services in Google Play are now required to use Google’s billing system and to remove external payment links.

Non-complying apps will not be able to offer updates, and will ultimately be removed from the Google Play store starting June 1, according to Google.

Many app developers around the world have used an alternative in-app billing system or directed users to an external link for payment to circumvent Google’s billing policy that takes a hefty 15-30 per cent cut of in-app purchases. IANS