Users can subscribe to e-magazines to constantly receive new issues or access content; however, since replacing newsstands with news, users have posted hundreds of negative comments about the change-from not being able to access paid magazine subscriptions to being axed (as if they were being forced to accept topics that were not relevant to them). There are many users there who have posted hundreds of derogatory comments on the news. Subscriptions are automatically renewed and subscribers are charged at the beginning of each subscription period. Notify users of price increases. Google states that existing subscribers to print publications may be eligible for a free digital subscription.

When a subscriber purchases a magazine, Google claims that it "will not ask for your name, email address, or mailing address. We may share your zip code anonymously with the magazine's publisher." If a user becomes a magazine subscriber, then "the publisher will receive your name, address and email address. The publisher may also receive your reading history in the relevant publication. The publisher may use them in accordance with the publisher's privacy policy." 

Some magazines offer trial periods.

Users can also subscribe to subject contributions of interest, and the service provides news feeds of interest to users.

Google Play Newsstand supports PDF and RePub file formats for magazine content, as well as RSS feeds for news content.