Apple has decided to remove the word 'free' from the description of apps in its store, reflecting concern that most 'free' apps are anything but.
The 'free' button that used to appear alongside apps with no up-front charge has been replaced by the word 'get' in the App Store, although the top charts are still broken down into 'paid' and 'free' listings.
As before, a little 'in-app purchases' label appears under any app that makes use of this facility.
Those in-app purchases are what's behind Apple's decision to do away with the 'free' button. Many apps, especially games, now rely on a freemium model where players have to pay to unlock content.
The price of some of these in-app purchases has troubled parents and competition authorities, who say children are lulled into making expensive purchases on a whim.
A "chest of gems" in the chart-topping Clash of Clans costs $128, for instance, although players can at least progress throughout that game without making payments. Many others offer nothing but a brief introductory level before forcing players to pay to unlock later levels.
Apple's move is likely designed to divert further attention from the authorities. Earlier this year, Google removed the word 'free' from its listings, after the European Commission ruled that "games advertised as 'free' should not mislead consumers about the true costs involved".
At the time of the ruling in July, the Commission noted that: "although, regrettably, no concrete and immediate solutions have been made by Apple to date to address the concerns linked in particular to payment authorisation, Apple has proposed to address those concerns".
Earlier this year, Apple paid back US$32.5 million to customers who were charged for unauthorised in-app payments, following an investigation by the US Federal Trade Commission.
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