Play Billing Library: required version 8 by 31 August 2026—and what blocks updates
Google’s current Play Billing Library deprecation table: version 8 required for new apps and updates by 31 August 2026, with extension to 1 November 2026.
Google’s Play Billing Library deprecation FAQ states a two-year deprecation cycle and a near-term gate that measurement and release teams cannot ignore: by 31 August 2026, all new apps and updates to existing apps must use Billing Library version 8 or later. An extension to 1 November 2026 is available via Play Console if more time is needed. This record is a deadline checklist for studios whose purchase and subscription events feed UA revenue reporting—not a migration tutorial.
Current required version and deadlines
The Google Play Billing Library version deprecation page (last updated 9 September 2026 UTC) opens with the version-8 reminder and publishes this support timeline:
| Version | New app and update deadline | Extension deadline |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | 31 August 2024 | 1 November 2024 |
| 6 | 31 August 2025 | 1 November 2025 |
| **7** | **31 August 2026** | **1 November 2026** |
| 8 | 31 August 2027 | 1 November 2027 |
| 9 | 31 August 2028 | 1 November 2028 |
Reading the table with the banner reminder: shipping on version 7 or earlier after 31 August 2026 (or after an approved extension deadline) blocks new apps and updates. The FAQ states unmaintained APKs need not be updated for users who already have them, but new apps and updates must use a supported version from the table. Dependencies appear in APKs that require the com.android.vending.BILLING permission.
Extension process: if an unsupported library version is detected, Play Console shows a warning; the extension form is on the warning’s details page under Policy status.
Getting ready restates the same 31 August / 1 November 2026 reminder and shows a sample dependency on Billing Library 9.1.0, indicating the current recommended integration line is already ahead of the version-8 floor.
What this means for UA revenue events
Observation from the deprecation FAQ: apps that cannot publish updates on an unsupported Billing Library version cannot ship billing fixes, new SKUs or measurement SDK updates that ride the same binary. Vendor claim: Google will not accept those updates after the deadline without an extension. Editorial inference: overdue Billing Library upgrades are a release-train risk for purchase posting and subscription event quality used in UA ROAS—not proof that live users suddenly lose purchases on already-installed builds.
Release and measurement owners should:
- Confirm
billingclientversion inbuild.gradleagainst the table (target ≥ 8.0.0 before 31 August 2026). - Verify
com.google.android.play.billingclient.versionsurvives manifest merge. - If still on 7.x near the deadline, file the Play Console extension and schedule the PBL 8 migration guide work.
- Treat purchase/subscription instrumentation QA as part of the same release, because a blocked update freezes both store billing and client-side event wiring.
Limits of this record
This article reads Android Developers documentation. It does not inspect a studio Play Console policy status, certify a binary, or measure revenue-event loss. Migration API details for versions 8 and 9 are out of scope except as pointers. The original I/O 2019 announcement of the two-year cycle is cited by Google on the FAQ; per-version enforcement history beyond the table is not re-litigated here.
