Google Play’s New Linking Fees: What to Do Now

Google Play billing changes are here, and they affect how you link users out of your app and how you charge them. The headline: Google has outlined programs for “external content links” and “alternative billing,” with new economics that include potential per‑install fees for link‑outs, revised cuts on off‑Play transactions, and an enrollment deadline in late January. If you distribute a consumer app or game in the U.S., this will influence product roadmaps, UA spend, and your 2026 P&L. (theverge.com)

What exactly changed—and why now?

In response to the Epic v. Google injunction, Google published two U.S. programs: one for linking users to external downloads or purchases, and one for offering your own billing stack inside the Play-distributed app. Google’s support pages add a developer enrollment date in late January and spell out the cost structure they may apply: $2.85 per app install and $3.65 per game install if a user clicks a Play link and installs within 24 hours; plus a 20% fee on off‑Play in‑app purchases and 10% on auto‑renewing subscriptions in the external links route. For alternative billing inside the app, Google signals only a 5% discount versus standard fees. A court hearing on January 22 could still affect what sticks, and Google says it isn’t collecting the new link fees yet. Plan as if they’ll land—but watch the docket. (theverge.com)

Under the hood, Google’s developer docs clarify that apps using external content links must integrate specific Play Billing APIs and be on Play Billing Library 8.2.1 or higher. You’ll show an information screen before users leave the app, register external downloads or offers in Play Console, and report qualifying transactions. Translation: even “outside Play” flows come with instrumentation and review. (developer.android.com)

Who’s affected most?

If you ship a game with a high share of installs originating from the Play listing, the per‑install link fee (for installs completed within 24 hours of the outbound click) could sting. For subscription apps—media, fitness, productivity—the 10% fee on auto‑renewals via external links looks more favorable than typical store rates, but you’ll still budget for the required integration work, compliance reviews, and ongoing reporting overhead. (theverge.com)

There’s also context beyond Google. Apple, under pressure globally, has been forced to re‑open parts of its platform in places like Brazil, while regulators in Europe and national authorities continue to press on app distribution and tracking rules. Even if you’re Android‑first today, the direction of travel is clear: platform policies are becoming more dynamic, and your monetization strategy needs contingency lanes. (reuters.com)

How to model the Google Play billing changes

Here’s the thing: most teams get stuck debating principle (“We should avoid store taxes!”) instead of modeling reality. Use this quick calculator mindset to compare your three lanes:

Lane A: Native Play Billing (status quo). You keep using Play’s checkout for one‑time purchases and subscriptions. Fees are familiar and stable; you avoid building and maintaining payments and compliance infrastructure. Marketing remains straightforward, and install attribution is clean.

Lane B: Alternative Billing inside the Play‑distributed app. You’ll build or license a payment stack. The headline savings are modest—a 5% discount compared to Play’s standard cut—so Lane B only wins if you have strong leverage on processor rates, a high ARPU cohort, or product needs that require non‑Play methods (e.g., bundled enterprise accounts or complex pricing). Factor in: SDK integration, risk/chargeback tooling, tax/VAT handling, PCI, subscription lifecycle edge cases, and support load. (theverge.com)

Lane C: External Content Links (link out). This is the flexible lane: you can push users to an optimized web checkout or even an external download. The tradeoff is cost and complexity. Per Google’s outline, you may owe per‑install link fees for installs completed inside 24 hours of the outbound click, plus percentage fees on external purchases—while still integrating Play’s APIs and reporting transactions. If your web funnel is excellent (think 4–6% conversion from visit to paid) and your processor rates are sharp, Lane C can pay off—especially for higher price points or subscription LTV. But if your funnel or instrumentation is weak, you’ll pay fees twice: once in engineering time, once in Google’s take. (theverge.com)

Back‑of‑the‑envelope scenarios

Subscription app, $12.99/month, 50% first‑month promo, 55% month‑2 retention, 12‑month LTV around $55 net of processor costs. With external links, the 10% fee on renewals might beat store pricing, but add the per‑install fee if that user installed within 24 hours of clicking out. At scale, those $2.85 (apps) or $3.65 (games) line items change CAC/LTV math—especially if you rely on organic discovery via Play. (theverge.com)

Free app with ads and occasional one‑time purchase. Alternative billing savings are slim. Unless you’ve got a web checkout advantage, Lane A (native) probably wins on simplicity.

Games with IAP whales. The per‑install fee for external link installs can be painful if your funnel starts on the Play listing. If your UA drives traffic directly to your website to sideload (where permitted) and then to a managed update channel, the economics look different—but operational risk rises and review rules still apply for Play‑distributed builds. (theverge.com)

Implementation checklist (fast path)

Teams that move quickly over the next four weeks will have choices when enforcement tightens. Here’s a practical, short‑cycle checklist:

1. Decide your primary lane now. Document whether you’ll stay native (A), adopt alternative billing (B), or link out (C) for your flagship SKU in the U.S. Don’t “pilot forever.” Choose a lane and ship a controlled test.
2. Enroll in the right program and update your Play Console declarations. If you’re linking externally, list your external downloads and offers as required. If you’re using alternative billing, complete enrollment and legal attestations. (theverge.com)
3. Upgrade to Play Billing Library 8.2.1+. Your app will need the latest APIs for external content links (including token and transaction reporting). Budget 1–3 sprints for integration and QA if you’ve got multiple SKUs. (developer.android.com)
4. Design the “leaving app” info screen UX. Google requires an info screen before handing users off. Treat it like a conversion page: clarity, reassurance, and a friction‑minimized path. A/B test copy and trust signals.
5. Instrument server‑side events. Implement the external transaction token flow, store transaction IDs, and build reconciler jobs to match Google’s reporting expectations within the stated windows.
6. Re‑forecast CAC/LTV. Add a per‑install link fee line item to any Play‑originated journeys. Recalculate blended take rates for subscriptions and one‑time purchases under each lane. (theverge.com)
7. Run a contained market test. Pick one SKU, one U.S. state cohort, or one channel. Measure conversion, refund rate, chargebacks, and support tickets. Kill what doesn’t move the needle in two sprints.

“People also ask” quick answers

Are these fees final?

Not yet. Google says it isn’t assessing the external link fees today, and there’s an evidentiary hearing scheduled for January 22. But the programs (and the engineering work they require) are real. Build now, and be ready to toggle fees on/off in your models depending on the court outcome. (theverge.com)

Do the Google Play billing changes apply outside the U.S.?

The currently published external content links and alternative billing pages call out U.S. applicability, while a separate, potential global settlement with Epic is still under scrutiny. Regulators in other countries are pushing parallel changes, so expect geographic nuance throughout 2026. (theverge.com)

How is an “external link install” counted?

Under Google’s outline, the per‑install fee would apply when a user clicks a link on the Play listing and completes an app or game install within 24 hours. The details live on Google’s support pages and in the program glossary. (theverge.com)

Do I still need Google review if I link out?

Yes. Apps must be submitted for review, external links must be registered/approved, and you’ll integrate Google’s APIs for tracking and reporting—regardless of whether the final transaction happens on the web. (developer.android.com)

Strategy: the three‑lane monetization map

When I sit with product and finance leads, we map choices on one page:

Lane A: Stay native (default)

Pick this if your growth engine depends on Play’s discovery surface, your margins are solid at current store rates, and your team would rather ship features than own payments operations. It’s also the lowest‑risk option if your fraud exposure is high or you sell regulated content.

Lane B: Alternative billing (inside the app)

Pick this if a modest fee reduction plus pricing flexibility outweighs the cost of building payments. It works when you have a strong brand funnel (own channels, email, web), high ARPPU, or enterprise relationships. Bake in a chargeback budget and a plan for subscription lifecycle quirks (proration, grace periods, dunning). (theverge.com)

Lane C: External content links (link out)

Pick this if you already convert well on the web and can justify the per‑install and percentage fees with better upsell, bundles, or multi‑product carts. It’s powerful for cross‑selling: one checkout can cover web, desktop, and connected devices. The catch is operational complexity and the need for precise analytics. (theverge.com)

Technical gotchas and edge cases

Integrations must be exact. The token you generate for external transactions needs to reconcile within Google’s specified window—or your reporting will drift from reality. Build a nightly job that reconciles external transaction IDs against your PSP’s settlement files, then against what you reported to Google.

Expect UX debt. The required information screen before link‑out is non‑negotiable; treat it as a miniature landing page. The copy should explain why users are leaving, how you keep payments secure, and how to get back to the app. Small changes here move conversion.

Plan for refunds and chargebacks. Your support team must know which flow a customer used. Use order prefixes per lane (e.g., A‑, B‑, C‑) and surface them in your admin. Tie that to gold‑source billing records so automatic pro‑rating and entitlements work across lanes.

Keep an eye on the broader app store landscape. Apple’s recent regulatory concessions in Brazil and continuing scrutiny of App Tracking Transparency policies show how quickly platform economics can swing. Diversifying your checkout and install flows is now a resiliency tactic, not just a margin play. (reuters.com)

SEO checkpoint: why this matters for acquisition

Linking out from your Play listing raises a classic question: will the extra friction hurt acquisition? It depends on what you control. If the web page loads instantly, explains value clearly, and routes users to the right build/device, you can win. If it’s slow or confusing, you’ll pay the per‑install fee on top of a weaker funnel.

Practical tip: build a single, fast “/join” page with device detection and two CTAs—“Install on Android” (deep‑links to the correct APK or a pre‑filled sideload instruction flow if allowed) and “Finish purchase on the web.” Tag the links with UTMs, and mirror event taxonomy in your data warehouse so finance can rebuild revenue lines by lane.

Risk management and compliance

Make no mistake: enforcement is coming. Even though Google isn’t charging external link fees yet, its documentation, API requirements, and review gates create an audit trail. If you under‑report, you’ll trip alarms. If you ship broken integrations, you’ll slow releases. Treat this like a payments migration: add automated checks to CI that block releases if the Play Billing Library version is below 8.2.1 or if critical reporting endpoints don’t respond. (developer.android.com)

Security note: if you’re investing in web checkout or external downloads, harden your edge. Recent server‑side incidents have shown how quickly unauthenticated payloads can become remote code execution when frameworks are misconfigured. Our security briefings on fast patch‑and‑verify workflows have playbooks your team can adapt tomorrow. See our guidance on rapid response and verification for production teams. 72‑hour patch‑and‑prove plan and stay patched guidance.

What to do next (one‑week sprint plan)

Let’s get practical. Here’s a simple one‑week plan I’ve used with clients:

• Day 1: Choose your lane for the U.S. and write a one‑page PRD. Involve product, eng, legal, finance.
• Day 2: Enroll in the relevant Google program and request any required Play Console approvals. Block calendar for a sandbox review session. (theverge.com)
• Day 3–4: Implement or upgrade to Play Billing Library 8.2.1+, add the info screen UX, and stub server‑side reporting endpoints. Gate with feature flags. (developer.android.com)
• Day 5: Build the reconciliation job and a finance dashboard that shows revenue by lane, take rates, per‑install fees, refunds, and chargebacks.
• Day 6: QA with a real payment instrument, web throttling tests, and “back to app” paths. Shoot for sub‑2‑second page loads on your external flow.
• Day 7: Ship to a 5–10% cohort. Measure funnel abandonment and CS ticket volume. Decide: scale, tweak, or roll back.

Need a sounding board?

If you want a second set of eyes on your lane choice or integration plan, our team works on mobile growth, payments, and compliance with startups and public companies. See what we do, check real client outcomes, or talk to us about sprint‑sized engagements that deliver measurable revenue gains. What we do, client results, and start a conversation.

For iOS leaders watching from the sidelines

Don’t ignore this. The Android side is a bellwether. Apple faces ongoing legal and regulatory pressure—Brazil’s settlement is the latest, and there have been recent European and national decisions scrutinizing how Apple’s privacy prompts and policies affect competition. Your stack should be ready to accommodate external billing and distribution variants on iOS where permitted, even if today’s rules in your markets haven’t shifted yet. (reuters.com)

Final take: optionality is your moat

Zooming out, these Google Play billing changes aren’t just a rule tweak; they’re a push to build optionality. The costs are real—engineering, compliance, and potentially new fees—but the upside is control. Control over pricing experiments. Control over bundles that span web, mobile, and connected screens. Control over the customer relationship when something breaks. If you treat this as a one‑time compliance exercise, you’ll pay the taxes without earning the benefits.

If you turn it into a strategic capability—clean APIs, solid reconciliation, a web funnel that converts—you’ll be ready for whatever the next court order or policy update throws at you.

Want deeper help on the decision tree or a build partner to hit the January deadline? We’ve published related policy guides and mobile growth playbooks on our blog, plus a practical guide to store policy shifts here: App Store policy changes guide, and a privacy‑centric primer for ad‑supported apps: ATT response playbook. We can scope a fixed‑fee sprint if you need it—our pricing page outlines standard packages.