Why can’t I buy Audible books through the Android app?

If you’re noticing you can no longer purchase Audible audio books with a debit or credit card through the Android app, nothing is bugged or broken. Amazon has officially removed this feature from the app.

As detailed by Ars Technica, a recent crackdown by Google seeks to ensure digital products purchased with apps downloaded from the Google Play store use Google Play’s billing system. Amazon is one of the companies resisting this move to prevent Google from taking a cut of sales.

This purchasing restriction is nothing new for iPhone users, as Audible removed the purchasing option back in 2011. For a number of years, users could not even “purchase” books with credits they earned through their subscription or from separate purchases. That was rectified as recently as one year ago, as reported by 9to5Mac in April 2021.

According to Steve Huff from Android Police, the ability to purchase books with credits will still exist, like on iOS. Huff’s article also mentions the ability to purchase extra credits through the app, also a feature in the iOS app. A support page published to Audible’s website confirms this. The stipulation to buying extra credits is a user must have been a “Premium Plus member for at least 30 days” and possess zero credits in their account.

Moving forward, outside of Amazon or Google reversing current policies or decision, Android audiobook listeners will need to access Audible’s website through an internet browser in order to purchase titles with a debit or credit card.