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Choosing a Payment Option for Google Play
Q. Every time I download a free app from the Google Play store on my Android tablet, it wants me to “finish setting up my account.” I thought I already had an account, because I’ve been downloading apps and I just press Skip on the next screen to go on. Why does it keep bothering me with this? I don’t want to enter my credit card number and have it on file there.
A. Even though you are downloading free apps from the store, Google Play would like you to supply a payment method in case you ever do decide to purchase software or services that cost money. The top part of the alert box displays the payment options. As long as you keep skipping the request to add a payment method, Google will probably keep asking you to finish setting up your account each time you try to download an app or other free item from the store.
If you do not want to cough up your credit card number and are tired of the nagging, you can add alternative forms of payment like PayPal or Google Play gift cards to your account settings instead. If you have a PayPal account but do not wish to use that, either, adding a Google Play gift card as your payment method is relatively cheap and easy. (You can also use PayPal to buy a Google Play gift card code as well, and digital versions of the cards can be purchased from many retailers you may already use.)
If you prefer to pay in cash, plastic Google Play gift cards with scratch-off codes are available at many popular stores, including Best Buy, CVS Pharmacy, Dollar General, Target, Walgreens and Walmart. You can buy a gift card with a $10 bill, enter the redemption code on the back into the “Complete account setup” box and hopefully not be pestered again for a payment method.
Personal Tech invites questions about computer-based technology to techtip@nytimes.com. This column will answer questions of general interest, but letters cannot be answered individually.
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