Google Play gets in-app subscription billing!

Google has added a brand new feature to their Play Store. This is great news for the developers who provide regular updates through their apps and want to charge on a regular basis for it.

Google Play now has support for in-app subscription. Google already support in-app billing through the store.

Google spoke about the update:

Starting today, developers can use In-app Billing to sell monthly or annual subscriptions from inside of their apps. All subscriptions are auto-renewing, for every app and game and every type of subscription product. Developers just set the price and billing interval and Google Play manages the purchase transactions for them, just as it does for other in-app products and app purchases. For users, Google Play provides a familiar and convenient purchase experience, highlighting subscription details such as price and billing interval before continuing with purchases. After the transaction, Google Play manages recurring billing and keeps users informed of new charges, sending them an email with each renewal. At any time, users can visit My Apps in the Play Store app to view their subscriptions and cancel any subscription as needed.

This would come very handy for content providers like magazines and newspapers who can now easily charge for weekly or monthly subscriptions from their readers.