Bottom line: Devs that don’t use Chrome Web Store payments to monetize their extension(s) will not be affected. For those who will be impacted by the change, Google recommends migrating to another payments processor. Fortunately, there are plenty of options so finding a suitable replacement shouldn't be too much of a hassle.
Developers will need to find a new way to monetize their Chrome Web Store extensions as Google has decided to permanently end the program.
If you recall, the search giant earlier this year issued a temporary suspension on paid Chrome Web Store extensions in an effort to curb what it described as a significant increase in the number of fraudulent transactions aiming to exploit users.
The suspension was extended on March 27 as Google focused on further developing Chrome amid new work-from-home measures due to Covid-19. Now, we are seeing a permanent ban.
“If you use the licensing API to keep track of who has paid, you’ll need to implement another way of tracking user licenses,” Google notes.
Per the published timeline, free trials will be disabled on December 1, 2020, and all payments will be halted come February 1, 2021. Use of the licensing API will be shut down sometime after next summer, we’re told, but no firm date has yet been revealed.
Additional details on how to export user licensing can be found over on the Chrome developer website.
Masthead credit: dennizn
https://www.techspot.com/news/86849-chrome-web-store-devs-need-find-new-way.html
