Approved apps can move from the standard 20%/25% non-recurring service-fee rates to 15%/20% for new/existing installs from September 30, before any applicable billing fee. Current enrollment is limited to developer account groups with at least $1 million in earnings over the previous 12 months.
Manifest V2 was already disabled for modern Chrome users. The August 31 change closes the remaining Web Store path, turning any still-pinned legacy install into an effectively frozen artifact with no Store update or reinstall route.
Google is tying licensed commercial content directly to an AI workspace: book ownership becomes the access control for grounded AI use. That gives publishers a new distribution path while keeping paid-source entitlement inside the AI experience.
Google is creating a geographic split in one of Search's most consequential spam controls. Publishers can face a manual action globally, but EEA users will see the affected section ranked on its own merits rather than directly demoted by that action.
Google Play’s 2026 target-API cutoff has two separate consequences: most new submissions and updates need API 36, while existing apps below API 35 can lose distribution to new users on newer Android devices. Developers who need more time can request an extension to November 1.
For deals and store transfers from August 10, Shopify partners can earn both subscription revenue share and a slice of merchant GMV, while the earning window becomes four years instead of perpetual.