Subscriptions

You, as a developer, must not mislead users about any subscription services or content you offer within your app. It is critical to communicate clearly in any in-app promotions or splash screens. We do not allow apps that subject users to deceptive or manipulative purchase experiences (including in-app purchases or subscriptions).

You must be transparent about your offer. This includes being explicit about your offer terms, the cost of your subscription, the frequency of your billing cycle, and whether a subscription is required to use the app. Users should not have to perform any additional action to review the information.

Subscriptions must provide sustained or recurring value to users throughout the life of the subscription, and may not be used to offer what are effectively one-time benefits to users (for example, SKUs that provide lump sum in-app credits/currency, or single-use game boosters). Your subscription may offer incentive or promotional bonuses, but these must be complementary to the sustained or recurring value provided throughout the life of the subscription. Products that do not offer sustained and recurring value must use an in-app product instead of a subscription product.

You may not disguise or mischaracterize one-time benefits to users as subscriptions. This includes the modification of a subscription to turn it into a one-time offering (for example, canceling, deprecating, or minimizing recurring value) after the user has purchased the subscription.

Examples of violations

• Monthly subscriptions that do not inform users they will be automatically renewed and charged every month.
• Annual subscriptions that most prominently display their pricing in terms of monthly cost.
• Subscription pricing and terms that are incompletely localized.
• In-app promotions that do not clearly demonstrate that a user can access content without a subscription (when available).
• SKU names that do not accurately convey the nature of the subscription, such as "Free Trial" or “Try Premium membership - 3 days for free,” for a subscription with an auto-recurring charge. 
• Multiple screens in the purchase flow that lead users into accidentally clicking the subscribe button.
• Subscriptions that do not offer sustained or recurring value — for example, offering 1,000 gems for the first month, then reducing the benefit to 1 gem in subsequent months of the subscription.
• Requiring a user to sign up to an auto-renewing subscription to deliver a one-time benefit, and canceling a user’s subscription without their request after the purchase.

Example 1:

① Dismiss button is not clearly visible and users may not understand that they can access functionality without accepting the subscription offer.

② Offer only displays pricing in terms of monthly cost and users may not understand that they will be charged a six month price at the time they subscribe.

③ Offer only shows the introductory price and users may not understand what they will automatically be charged at the end of the introductory period.

④ Offer should be localized in the same language as the terms and conditions so that users can understand the entire offer.

 

Example 2:

① Recurring clicks in the same button area causes the user to inadvertently click the final “continue” button to subscribe.

② The amount that users will be charged at the end of the trial is hard to read, such that users may think the plan is free

COLLAPSE ALL EXPAND ALL

 

Free Trials & Introductory Offers Before a user is enrolled in your subscription: You must clearly and accurately describe the terms of your offer, including the duration, pricing, and description of accessible content or services. Be sure to let your users know how and when a free trial will convert to a paid subscription, how much the paid subscription will cost, and that a user can cancel if they do not want to convert to a paid subscription. Examples of violations Offers that do not clearly explain how long the free trial or introductory pricing will last. Offers that do not clearly explain that the user will be automatically enrolled in a paid subscription at the end of the offer period. Offers that do not clearly demonstrate that a user can access content without a trial (when available). Offer pricing and terms that are incompletely localized.   ① Dismiss button is not clearly visible and users may not understand that they can access functionality without signing up for the free trial. ② Offer emphasizes the free trial and users may not understand that they will automatically be charged at the end of the trial. ③ Offer does not state a trial period and users may not understand how long their free access to subscription content will last. ④ Offer should be localized in the same language as the terms and conditions so that users can understand the entire offer.

 

Subscription Management, Cancellation & Refunds If you sell subscriptions in your app(s), you must ensure that your app(s) clearly disclose how a user can manage or cancel their subscription. You must also include in your app access to an easy-to-use, online method to cancel the subscription. In your app’s account settings (or equivalent page), you can satisfy this requirement by including: A link to Google Play’s Subscription Center (for apps that use Google Play’s billing system); and/or direct access to your cancellation process. If a user cancels a subscription purchased through Google Play’s billing system, our general policy is that the user will not receive a refund for the current billing period, but will continue to receive their subscription content for the remainder of the current billing period, regardless of the cancellation date. The user's cancellation goes into effect after the current billing period has passed. You (as the content or access provider) may implement a more flexible refund policy with your users directly. It is your responsibility to notify your users of any changes to your subscription, cancellation and refund policies and ensure that the policies comply with applicable law.