The Google security team has indefinitely blocked the publishing of any commercial Chrome extensions due to a recent surge in the number of paid extensions engaging in fraudulent transactions through the Chrome Web Store. The transactions began to spike earlier this month, and Google engineers described the influx as happening “at scale.”
The publishing and updating ban impacts all paid extensions, including extensions that require a fee before installing, ones that work on monthly subscriptions, and those that use one-time in-app purchases. Other commercial extensions that are free are still available for download via the official Chrome Web Store, however, developers may not push new updates. The ban is meant to stem the influx as Google searches for long term solutions to address the influx of fraud.
Read More: The Chrome Web Store is currently facing a wave of fraudulent transactions