Say Who Gets the Discount and What Happens After
If a price depends on who someone is, say who qualifies, how you check it and what they pay after. Google Play now requires this for some subscriptions.
- Google Play announced new and updated developer policies on 29 October 2026 and gave developers at least 30 days from that date to comply.
- Subscriptions with ongoing eligibility-based discounts, such as student plans, must clearly disclose the eligibility criteria, how eligibility is checked, and what changes to price and benefits once someone stops being eligible. Google Play lists 27 January 2027 as the deadline.
- Apps that build AppFunctions must not deceive or manipulate AI agents, bypass security controls or interfere with other apps. Google Play lists 14 April 2027 as the deadline.
- Apps targeting Android 17 or higher (API 37+) must submit a Play Console declaration to use the Local Network permission. Google Play lists 25 August 2027 as the deadline.
Google Play publishes developer policy changes as announcements in Play Console Help and lists each change with its deadline on a Policy Deadlines page. The 29 October 2026 announcement covers subscriptions, AI agent features and two device permissions.
Discounts tied to a status, like being a student, are easy to launch and easy to explain badly. People who feel surprised by a later price are more likely to cancel or complain. Writing the rules down now costs little and keeps you ready if a store asks.
For each discounted plan, write three short lines on the paywall or plan page: who qualifies, how you check it, and the price and benefits after the discount ends. Do the same for trials and intro offers, even where no store requires it yet.
Put it to work 15 minutes
A short note for each discounted plan covering who qualifies, how it is checked and the price after it ends
Open your own paywall or pricing page. For every discount, trial or intro offer, check you can find who it is for, how it is checked and what happens afterwards. Fix the first one that is missing a line.
See a worked example
Use your own paywall, pricing page or store listing.
- Who qualifies
- Students in full-time education.
- How it is checked
- A student email address, checked once a year.
- After it ends
- £4.99 a month after that, with the same features.
Your turn
Say who the discount is for.
Say how you confirm it.
Give the price and benefits afterwards.
Your draft stays in this browser. No account needed.
Only subscriptions with ongoing eligibility-based discounts fall under this rule, and the deadline is not until 27 January 2027. A plan with one simple price has nothing new to do.
The facts come straight from Google Play's own policy announcement and deadlines page; the advice to apply the same habit to every paid plan is editorial.
Does stating who qualifies and the price afterwards change how many people cancel when a discount ends?
Watch: Cancellations when a discount ends · Support questions about price changes · Further Google Play or App Store guidance on discountsKeep Going