Google recently announced a change to Google Play Store policy that requires developers to provide a physical address if they want to sell their applications in Play Store. This change was pretty significant for the app developer community, but it's not the only interesting modification that Google has in store for us. Another big change is waiting right around the corner, as Google decided to put information about in-app purchase prices on the application installation screen. Users will now see how much they will eventually have to pay to get the full application functionality.
Freemium applications and games are very popular--and that's not just here on the XDA forums. Most games are advertised as “free,” but after installation, you will realize that some crucial features require in-app purchases to be unlocked. Google determined that this practice is misleading, and therefore has made information about potential costs mandatory. Such costs will be presented as a price range. For instance, if a game offers items ranging from $1 to $199, it would show a $1 - $199 price range. Without further details, just the minimum and maximum value. This information should give you a pretty good idea about the true costs of the application that you are about to install.
Google made this decision due to lost court trial, where they were forced to pay a $19 million refund to the parents of children who bought content from “free” games. This change of the rules will prevent Google from similar incidents in the future. Apple had to pay even more for the very same thing. And in Google's eyes, it's better to be safe than sorry.
The changes themselves will be rolled out next week, around September 30th. How do you like this policy change? Are you a app developer who uses IAPs and do you fear that this will impact revenue stream and app installs, or are you a happy parent who wants to prevent your children from installing “free” applications that end up offering IAPs? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
[via Phandroid]