Google has introduced in-app subscriptions to its Google Play app store, which will allow developers to sell monthly or annual subscriptions for content or services from within their apps.

Subscriptions can be used to monetise premium content such as magazines or to sell access to bundled products, game levels, music and video content or value-added services.

In a post on the Android Developers blog, Google Play product manager Ibrahim Elbouchikhi said that all subscriptions are auto-renewing and that developers set the price and billing interval. Users are given the subscription details including price and billing intervals before committing to the subscription.

Google Play manages the transactions, informing users by email about when they are charged or when subscriptions are renewed . Users can visit the My Apps section to view or cancel subscriptions as they choose.

Any user with Google Play 3.5 or higher can access subscriptions from today.

In-app billing was introduced to Google Play (then Android Market) a year ago. Today 23 of the 24 top-grossing apps in Google Play use in-app billing, while the total revenue generated from in-app purchases exceeds that from more traditional paid apps.