Google Play Store stops offering paid app download updates to Belarusian users

After Russia was sanctioned by the European Union and the United States, both Google and Apple have stopped offering app sales in Russia, meaning that paid apps cannot be downloaded. In the subsequent expansion plan, Google will stop all content related to payment based on legal requirements, and even the app that has been purchased cannot be updated. Unless the developer is willing to change their application to be free to download and use, because the free state does not need to go through the payment system, it is no longer within the scope of sanctions. Now Belarus is getting the same treatment as Russia, with Google announcing that Google Play will no longer offer paid app updates to Android users in Belarus.

According to the announcement issued by Google, based on the sanctions imposed by the U.S. government, Google has stopped providing paid services to users in Belarus based on compliance considerations. Affected mainly are apps and games that require payment to download, and users can neither make new purchases, nor users who have already purchased nor get updates. The exception is that in-app purchases and free in-app subscriptions are not blocked, so this strange policy is somewhat different from the sanctions against Russia.

Perhaps the sanctions against Belarus will not have a big impact on most users, but it may be very bad for developers in Belarus. Google also continues to encourage developers to make their paid apps free to resume downloads and updates, so that it works at least as normal for users.