Google is closing down the paid Chrome extensions allowed on the Chrome Web Store, the company announced in March 2020. This means that developers who want to profit from their extensions will need to use other payment methods.
Developers can no longer obtain new paid extensions, according to Google, though that’s cementing a policy that has previously been in place since March.
And that policy matches a temporary suspension of publishing paid extensions in January after Google saw an uptick in fraudulent transactions that “aimed to misuse users.”
Google will slowly phase out other functionality over the coming months. On February 1st, Google states that current extensions can no longer charge customers using the payment system of the Chrome Web Store.
These aren’t the only striking alterations to extensions that Google has executed this year. The company operated out of several policy updates in April meant to overcome spammy extensions, including banning many extensions that do the same thing.
They prevent developers from managing reviews to get better placement for their extension and block extensions that abuse notifications.
Why this changes from Google
The web has made significant progress in the 11 years since Google launched the Chrome Web Store. Back then, Google provided a way for developers to monetize their Web Store items. But in the years since, the ecosystem has grown, and developers now have many payment-handling options available to them.
Chrome Web Store policies
Google’s Chrome Web Store is the most extensive catalog of browser extensions around, but as with any successful chunk of the internet, more offers of information to install mean more scammers and spammers attempting to sneak their trash into the mix or attempting to abuse the system for their profit.
To that end, Google is offering several new rules for the Chrome Web Store to help cut down on spammy extensions.