Google is shutting down paid Chrome extensions in coming months

Google is closing down paid Chrome extensions allowed on the Chrome Web Store, the company announced on Tuesday. That suggests that developers who are seeking to monetize their extensions will have to do so with other payment-handling ways.

As of Monday, 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 next months. On February 1st, Google states that current extensions can no longer charge customers using the Chrome Web Store’s payments system.

These aren’t the only striking alterations to extensions that Google has executed this year. The company operated out several policy updates in April meant to overcome spammy extensions, including banning many extensions that do the same thing.

They are not enabling developers to manage reviews to try to get more desirable placement for their extension and blocking extensions that abuse notifications.

Why this changes from Google

The web has come to a long approach in the 11 years since Google has begun 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 offer information to install means more scammers and spammers attempting to sneak their trash into the mix or attending to abuse the system for their profit.

To that end, Google is offering several new rules for the Chrome Web Store to assist cut down on spammy extensions.