Chrome 71 update will have a new security feature that will stop mobile subscription scams. This refers to those sites that keep on asking you for your phone number and without your explicit permission or knowledge sign you up for a billable mobile subscription. The bill is charged through your service carrier.
This new feature will arrive with Chrome 71 set to be released in December. As it works out, Google will show you a big pop up warning, letting you know that the site doesn’t make it quite clear that by giving out your phone number, you are signing up for a mobile subscription.
Protecting the Genuine Mobile Subscription service
Obviously, if Google were to apply this new feature as a blanket, it will also affect developers who are genuinely using the flow to provide site visitors with a legitimate mobile subscription. To avoid such an occurrence, Google has published a set of best practices for mobile billing that developers should adhere to and avoid their site being flagged to users on Chrome browser.
One requirement under the best practice guideline is that the developers are required to make their billing information very visible and obvious to visitors. They need to display the actual cost in a simple and straightforward fee structure.
Should that not be provided, then you can be certain Google will be throwing up a prominent full-paged warning to users. Hence making them avoid using your site. Google will further notify webmasters in the Search Console whenever they detect a potential scam to the visitors.
This new security features will roll on with Chrome 71 on both desktop and mobile. The same goes for Android’s Webview.
