Google Play is committed to continuously strengthening the protection of the platform. In 2025, Google Play successfully prevented US$3.4B of fraud and abuse. In 2026, we are implementing additional enhanced guardrails and fraud detections to reduce potential refund abuse, further protecting users and developers on Google Play.
Additionally, to align with industry standards, Google Play and developers will begin sharing chargeback costs for orders placed after August 3, 2026. Chargebacks are disputes initiated by users directly with their financial institutions. When a chargeback occurs, the costs is split as follows:
- Developer responsibility: The purchase price (less Play's service fee) and the associated chargeback fees from the financial institution.
- Google Play's responsibility: We will continue to cover the service fee cost for that transaction.
To help you take an active role in managing chargebacks ahead of these changes taking effect, a new optional Review Refund API is now available. This lets you to share key transaction information with Google Play - such as order delivery state and item consumption status. With this information, Google Play can better identify and contest illegitimate chargebacks on your behalf.
These changes, taken together, better protect the integrity of the ecosystem and allow Google Play and developers to work together to help prevent fraud and abuse.