Apple no longer labels free apps as free

Under pressure from the European Commission, Apple has adjusted the download buttons in its App Store. The buttons for free apps no longer say ‘free’, but ‘download’. After all, many apps have in-app purchases and are therefore not always free in practice.

The change was implemented on Wednesday evening in all App Stores, not only in the European but also, for example, in the American; there the text ‘free’ has been replaced by ‘get’. Not only free-to-play apps have a button with the new text, but also other apps that do not require payment.

According to the European Commission, it is misleading to call apps free if the app then entices users to spend money, which is the case, for example, with free-to-play games but also with magazines and newspapers.

The change does not seem to have been fully implemented yet: the App Store still uses lists with, for example, the ‘top free’ apps. Earlier, the European Commission already convinced Google to no longer label games with in-app purchases as ‘free’.