Here's why nothing is 'Free' in the Apple App Store anymore

Earlier this year, Google stopped using the word “Free” in the Play store for an app that includes in-app purchases, following a request from the European Commission (EC). Now, Apple follows suit.

iOS device users will now notice that apps that once mentioned ‘FREE’ are now replaced with ‘GET’. You will now have to hit the ‘Get’ button to download the app.

According to the European Commission (EC), it is misleading to term an app free which needs purchases. This sometimes leads to accidental purchases by kids as parents let them tinker with the app since it mentions ‘free’. The EC has penned down four guidelines that game developers as well as app stores must follow. Firstly, games that are labelled free should not be misleading and shouldn’t ask for in-app purchases.

EC guidelines also state that app makers must provide an email address wherein users can send in their grievances. Lastly, all users should be well informed about purchasing practices and no purchases should be allowed without explicit consent.

Apple already has some additional alerts to ensure there are no accidental purchases, but now has decided to curb the ‘freemium’ term completely. If you remember, last year, Apple had to shell out $100 million to settle a lawsuit with the FTC for accidental in-app purchases and downloads by children.

Just like Apple, Google also faced a similar lawsuit. Ilana Imber-Gluck, mother of a 5-year old son who made in-app purchases worth $65.95 had sued Google in a northern California court on behalf of herself and several other parents in a similar situation.

While both companies haven’t officially mentioned anything, it is quite clear that the new changes have been implemented following requests from EC. Moroever, it will also avoid lawsuits in future.