Google’s new rules for in-app purchases, effective June 1, will also affect Amazon Prime Video’s Android app.
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Android users can currently no longer buy or rent films from Prime Video.
©Amazon
New guidelines will come into effect in Google’s Play Store on June 1, 2022. As part of this, Google wants to take stronger action against providers who do not comply with these guidelines. Specifically, this also means companies that offer purchase content via their apps. Google is planning to introduce its own payment system, but Spotify is the only partner listed so far. It is not yet known whether Amazon will also be part of it in the near future.
E-books are followed by films and series
In response to the change, Amazon is now removing purchase content from several of its apps. For example, since the beginning of the week it has no longer been possible to buy or borrow e-books in the Android shopping app. After an update, the Amazon Prime Video Android app will follow this Friday.
Buy and rent buttons disappear after update
The change was discovered by colleagues from Golem.de. So far, buy and rent buttons for content that is not part of the Prime subscription have been integrated into the Amazon Prime Video Android app. These will disappear after the update and will be replaced with a “How can I view this?” button. A click on the button leads users to the information that buying and renting is still possible on the PC or via the smartphone browser. However, in-app purchases no longer work via the Android app. However, Amazon has not yet informed its customers about the changes.
Two options for workaround
If you want to continue renting and buying films and series on your Android smartphone, you can use one of two workaround options. For example, it is possible not to update the Amazon Prime Video Android app or to install the Amazon Prime Video app via an alternative app store, such as Amazon’s. Both options still have the buy and rent buttons.