Google Play Store introduces ‘Slide to Buy’ to curb accidental purchases

Google is rolling out a notable change to its Play Store purchasing system by replacing the long-standing “1-tap buy” button with a new gesture-based confirmation called “Slide to buy.” The update, now arriving with Play Store version 46.5.19-31, is designed to prevent unintentional purchases across apps, books, movies, and other digital content.

The new user interface introduces a pill-shaped slider at the bottom of the purchase screen. To complete a transaction, users must swipe the circular handle from left to right, guided by directional arrows and a subtle bounce animation that appears the first time the feature is used. The change affects all parts of the Play Store experience, including in-app purchases and content bought via the Google TV app.

This updated mechanism replaces the previous setup where users could initiate purchases with a single tap—sometimes resulting in accidental charges, particularly when children or inattentive taps were involved. While the earlier system already required confirmation steps like fingerprint or password authentication, the addition of a swipe gesture adds a deliberate physical motion to further reduce mistakes.

Google officially states the goal of the “Slide to buy” change is to “prevent accidental purchases,” addressing a long-standing complaint from users who found the old method too easy to trigger unintentionally. Previously, buying content could involve a quick confirmation sequence that some users completed without fully realizing they had authorized a charge.

This UI adjustment is part of a broader trend in Google’s interface evolution. Alongside the purchase update, the company is experimenting with other design changes, including Material 3 Expressive elements and new AI-powered features like “Ask Play about this app,” which uses Gemini to provide users with answers about specific apps directly within the Play Store.

The new slide-to-confirm feature is being gradually rolled out and may take several weeks to reach all devices, depending on regional server-side activations. For now, users should check that they’re running the latest Play Store version to determine if the new purchase interface is live on their devices.