Summary
- Google is adding a swipe-to-confirm step to prevent accidental purchases on the Play Store.
- This new feature requires users to swipe laterally before making a purchase.
- In any case, biometric authentication can provide an extra layer of security in addition to the swipe-to-confirm feature.
Google is apparently rolling out a fresh Play Store feature aimed at stopping those accidental buys before they happen. You know how easy it is to tap one thing, and suddenly you’ve paid for an app you didn’t really want? Now, the tech giant is finally doing something about that—because with how smooth the checkout flow is, it’s way too easy to tap the wrong thing and end up with an accidental purchase.
Related
Telegram user @Adamzampahere recently spotted something new in the latest Play Store update (version 45.8.21-31), and Android Authority reported on it. Basically, Google is adding an extra layer of “are you sure?” before you buy anything. Based on the screenshots, you’ll now have to swipe laterally to confirm a purchase even before the usual password or fingerprint check kicks in.
With this new gesture, you’ll need to swipe sideways to seal the deal, replacing the old one-tap “buy” or “subscribe” setup. It looks like this applies to both app purchases and subscriptions made through the Play Store’s built-in billing system.
It’s all about cutting down on accidental purchases
The whole point of this change is to cut down on accidental app buys. Even with this new swipe-to-confirm step, turning on biometric authentication is still a smart move if you want an extra layer of security. You can check if it’s active by heading into your Settings, and if you’re not sure how to set it up, there’s a full guide available to walk you through turning on Google Play’s biometric authentication.
Sadly, we haven’t seen the feature pop up on any of our devices yet, so we couldn’t test it out ourselves. That said, based on early impressions, it looks like it could actually do a solid job of cutting down on unintended app purchases.
While the swipe-to-confirm feature looks like it’s landing with Play Store version 45.8.21-31, Google has already teased it back in version 45.6. Fingers crossed it rolls out globally soon, so you can finally shop on the Play Store without second-guessing every tap.
