On the Play Store coming automatic purchases based on balance and gesture

The Google I/O 2025 is now upon us and, as often happens in this period, the advances on possible news coming soon begin to become more frequent and concrete; One of these concerns a significant change in the way in-app purchases are managed on the Google Play Store, with the introduction (still not officially announced) of a New functionality called “Automatic purchase of balance”. It is an optional system designed to simplify the use of users, avoiding frequent interruptions and automating the charging of objects or digital currencies within the apps.

How automatic balance -based purchases work

According to what emerged from a recent support page updated by Google, the developers will soon have the opportunity to offer Automatic purchase plans Who come into action every time the balance of a certain resource (whether it is an in-app currency, a skin, an armor or any other element) goes down below a pre-established threshold.

Just to give a practical example, the user could authorize the system to automatically buy 200 coins every time his balance goes down below 100, or to supply a consumable object (like an armor) as soon as this is sold out or damaged.

It is good to emphasize that it is a fully optional functionalitythe user will decide whether and when to activate a plan of this type, also choosing minimum threshold and charging amount; No charge will be carried out at the time of activation, unless the threshold has already been exceeded. Each transaction will be accompanied by a receipt via email, and the user can at any time modify, suspend or delete the active plan.

According to Google, this novelty could improve the experience of use in different practical scenarios, such as when visiting a livestream on a social app, allowing to send virtual gifts to the creator without having to stop the interaction to perform manual purchases.

Although the system has been designed by the Mountain View company, it will be the task of the developers to implement the functionality within their apps concretely. At the moment, when the system will be made available officially, the presence of the documentation in the guide does not imply an immediate release, but everything suggests that we could know more during the Google I/O of May.

The scrolling gesture for purchases arrives on the Google Play Store

In addition to automatic purchases, another functionality is under the release phase and concerns the methods in which purchases are made on the Play Store; According to what was reported by the User Telegram @adamzampahere (through Androidauthority), version 45.8.21-31 of the Play Store introduces a New side scrolling gesture that replaces the classic “Buy” or “Sign up” button.

The novelty, already announced by Google in a previous update of the Play Services, aims to significantly reduce accidental purchasesespecially for those users who have deactivated or limited the verification of purchases; Instead of a simple tap, it will be necessary to scroll laterally to complete the action, a small change that however could have a significant impact on the daily usability of the Play Store.

At the moment, the scrolling gesture seems to be in the gradual rollout phase, and not all users still manage to view it on their devices, despite having already installed the latest version of the Google Play Store.

We will therefore have to patient a little more, but it is now clear that Google intends to review in depth the way we interact with digital payments on Android, with an increasingly attentive eye to practicality, control and safety.