Google is discontinuing paid extensions through the Chrome Web Store

Google is discontinuing support for paid Chrome extensions in the Chrome Web Store. Developers who want to charge money for their extensions must therefore switch to a different payment method and licensing system.

Developers have not been able to create new paid extensions since Monday, the company reports. Google temporarily stopped adopting new paid extensions on March 27, due to covid-19. The company now indicates that this change will become permanent. Payments through the Chrome Web Store will be phased out gradually over the coming months.

The payment function will be discontinued completely from 1 February 2021. This means that developers can no longer accept payments directly through the Chrome Web Store. Developers can still request information about previously paid purchases and subscriptions from users, although those subscriptions are no longer automatically renewed. ‘Sometime in the future’ the license API will also be discontinued, so that the license information of users can no longer be requested. Developers must therefore switch to a different payment processor and license tracking system before then.