Google has stopped running paid extensions on the Chrome browser that are offered on the Chrome Web Store, the company announced today.
This means that developers trying to monetize their add-ons will have to do so using other payment processing systems.
As of Monday, developers can no longer create new paid extensions, according to Google — although this reinforces a policy in place since March.
The policy follows a temporary suspension of publishing paid extensions in January after Google noticed an uptick in fraudulent transactions “aimed at exploiting users.”
Google will gradually eliminate some other functions over the coming months, and on February 1st.
According to Google, current extensions are no longer able to charge fees to customers using the Chrome Marketplace payments system.
These are not the only notable changes to extensions that Google has made this year as the company rolled out a number of policy updates in April aimed at reducing unwanted extensions, including blocking multiple extensions that do the same thing, not allowing developers to manipulate reviews to try to get a better ranking, and preventing extensions that abuse notifications.
