Amazon ends Android shopping app digital downloads

Amazon has stopped letting customers download e-books and any other digital content from its Android shopping app.

It is asking them to instead buy books via its website or Kindle app.

Since April, companies with an annual turnover above $1m (£800,000) must pay 30% commission on all in-app purchases to Android owner Google, which also handles all payment transactions.

And Amazon said its policy, introduced worldwide in the past two weeks, was in response to "Google Store policies".

It declined to say what impact it had had on sales.

In April, Amazon reported its first quarterly loss since 2015, following a decline in online sales.

Content can still be streamed in the shopping app.

Amazon has had the same policy on its iOS shopping app for some years because of similar fees imposed by Apple.

An Amazon official said the changes had been "carefully considered" and digital content remained readily available outside of its app.

:story: BBC News