Why You Can No Longer Buy Or Rent Any Kindle E-Book On Your Android Devices

Amazon.com, Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN) Kindle users will no longer be able to purchase digital books on the Android operating system made by Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ: GOOGL) (NASDAQ: GOOG) search engine unit Google.

What Happened: The move comes after Google began cracking down on developers selling digital goods and services and requiring them to use Google Play’s billing system, according to an Ars Technica report. 

“Apps using an alternative in-app billing system will need to remove it in order to comply with the Payments policy,” according to Google Play.

Amazon Music purchases have also been axed on the Google Play app, according to Ars Technica. 

See Also: How To Buy Amazon (AMZN) Shares

Why It Matters: Companies that have failed to use Google Play for in-app purchases have been blocked from issuing app updates since March 31 and beginning June 1, 2022, non-compliant apps will be removed from the platform. 

Amazon stopped direct digital book purchases on rival Apple Inc’s (NASDAQ: AAPL) iOS in 2011, according to a report from The Verge. 

A screenshot, shared by Ars Technica, indicated Amazon is encouraging customers to add books to their library by “buying or renting” through its website as it looks to comply with Google’s policies.

Other Clashes: In 2020, “Fortnite” publisher Epic Games took Apple and Google to court over the removal of its game, after offering customers an alternative in-app purchase mechanism to avoid a 30% fee imposed by the tech giants.

"Fortnite" is once again available on Apple and Google’s platforms through the web browser route, courtesy of Microsoft Corporation’s (NASDAQ: MSFT) cloud gaming offering.

Price Action: On Friday, Amazon shares closed 1.4% lower at $2,295.45 in the regular session and fell 0.15% in extended trading, while Alphabet Class A and Class C shares closed 0.65% down in regular trading, according to Benzinga Pro data.

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Photo: Courtesy of Google Play