Google Play now displays IAP price ranges and developers' addresses
Open to abuse?
Google Play has been updated with two significant changes - one that is a move in the right direction, another that may prove controversial.
It's all in accordance with "consumer protection laws and current best-practices, ensuring a more transparent and positive experience for users."
The first part of the update involves in-app purchases.
The price ranges of IAPs and subscriptions that an app or game offers is now displayed on its product page.
So, if you scroll down to the bottom of a Google Play store listing, you'll see that this new information is displayed (as seen above).
Unfortunately, it is only the price ranges of IAPs and not what individual items cost. So it's not a lot of new information, but it's a start, I suppose.
I spyThe second change is the requirement for developers to display their physical address on product pages.
If developers do not provide an address then Google may restrict their ability to update and even publish new apps.
Continued failure to comply will mean that developers games will be removed from Google Play completely. So, yeah, it's a must from now on.
I've already seen a few developers mention (on Twitter) that they don't like the idea of publicly displaying their physical address on Google Play.
I'm genuinely considering removing my apps from the Google Play store if they are going to force developers to reveal their physical address
— Stew Hogarth (@StewHogarth) September 27, 2014
The reason: it leaves them vulnerable to physical abuse. As it is, Flappy Bird creator Dong Nguyen received death threats online for removing his game earlier this year.
What if those people found out where he lived and tracked him down?
Hopefully, something like that won't happen. But that's what some developers fear this very public display of their address will lead to.