If reports from a certain bunch of Nexus 5 owners on Google Plus and Reddit are to be believed, Google has started replacing cracked screens on the Nexus 5 for free. The one-time replacement policy covers broken and shattered Nexus 5 display due to an accidental fall or water damage. 

Under its new unannounced policy, Google will send you a new or refurbished Nexus 5 while you need to ship Google your broken Nexus 5. The company will hold a temporary charge on your credit card until it receives the broken phone for security purposes.

Google has traditionally only offered a replacement or repair for its Nexus devices against any manufacturing defect. However, its new policy is completely in line with what many of the other OEMs like Samsung, HTC and LG have started offering recently for their devices.

Google has not officially mentioned this policy anywhere on the Play Store website so consider it unofficial for now. This ‘unofficial’ new warranty policy is also only valid once and only for those Nexus 5 units that were purchased directly from Google via its Play Store website.

Also, until and unless explicitly stated by Google, expect this policy to be only applicable in the United States and only for the Nexus 5 and not any of the other devices sold via the Play Store.