Want to link from Google’s app store to your app? That’ll be $2–4 per install

Today was the deadline for Google to uncover really it’s complying pinch Judge James Donato’s bid to crack unfastened Android for third-party app stores, extremity illegally tying its Google Play Billing strategy to its app store, and fto developers nexus to ways to download their apps extracurricular the Play Store successful the US.

But Google isn’t conscionable letting app developers do things nevertheless and whenever they’d like. The company’s softly updated its support pages pinch a January 28th deadline to enroll successful circumstantial Google programs for “alternative billing” and “external contented links” — and these programs will travel pinch ample replacement fees of their own, assuming Judge Donato doesn’t opt for Epic and Google’s projected settlement instead.

While it isn’t collecting fees yet, Google says it will complaint developers $2.85 for each app and $3.65 for each game a personification installs wrong 24 hours of clicking a nexus that takes you extracurricular Google’s app shop to download them extracurricular the Google ecosystem.

Plus, it’ll return a 20 percent trim of immoderate in-app purchases and 10 percent of immoderate auto-renewing subscriptions. Apps still request to beryllium submitted to Google for review, usage a Google API to way them, and developers person to study each transactions (including $0 free trials) if they want to participate.

Meanwhile, developers who want to connection their ain billing solutions will only get a 5 percent discount compared to Google’s existent fees, apt making it not worthy the effort to effort replacement billing astatine all. Google will complaint 25 percent for in-app purchases and 10 percent for auto-renewing subscriptions there; devs will request to merge a Google API to way those, and study each transactions wrong 24 hours.

The institution will headdress immoderate of these fees astatine 10 percent of a developer’s first $1 cardinal of earnings, making it a spot easier for mini developers, but possibly nary easier than it is currently. Google already offers a akin headdress astatine 15 percent, truthful this excessively is simply a 5 percent discount.

How will Judge James Donato react? When Apple told Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers it would require a 27 percent interest for outer payments successful the parallel Epic v. Apple case, she recovered Apple successful contempt of court, and an appeals tribunal backed up that determination just days ago. However, the appeals tribunal did propose that Apple whitethorn beryllium capable to cod immoderate fee, penning that:

Google presently claims that “the fees associated pinch the outer contented links programme bespeak the worth provided by Android and Play and support our continued investments crossed Android and Play.”

But Google besides says it won’t cod immoderate fees rather yet, writing:

In their associated advancement study today, Epic and Google’s lawyers constitute that while Epic agrees pinch the January 28th deadline and different requirements, “Epic has indicated that it opposes the work fees that Google announced it whitethorn instrumentality successful the early and that Epic will situation these fees if they travel into effect.”

Of course, nary of this will travel to walk if Judge Donato accepts Google and Epic’s projected settlement instead, which would mostly use worldwide (instead of conscionable successful the US) and comes pinch little modular transaction fees.

But Google signaled that settlement, too, would travel pinch fees connected replacement billing and outer app downloads, and Judge Donato seemed skeptical of the colony successful November. He’s ordered an evidentiary proceeding connected January 22nd earlier he makes a decision.

Since Google’s support pages look to beryllium fluid arsenic Epic v. Google continues, we’ve archived copies of their existent matter below.