Apple Removes “FREE” from App Store Vocabulary

Last week, in response to mounting pressure from the European Union (EU), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and disgruntled customers – Apple traded in the word "FREE" for "GET" in the App Store. Prior to the shift in language, apps available for free download were listed as such – but in an effort to clarify the potential for eventual payment, Apple took the suggestion offered by the EU and FTC in September and implemented it in the United States.

With In-App Purchase (IAPs) on the rise, it is becoming increasingly easy to mistakenly rack up substantial charges. Most of these charges have been accumulated by children playing games, simply unaware that free, in actuality, often times means freemium. In one instance, as told by The Telegraph, an eight-year-old British girl managed to run up a bill of £4,000 making "in-app" purchases from games such as Campus Life, My Horse, Hay Day and Smurfs' Village on her father’s iPad. In that circumstance, Apple reimbursed the girl's father.

Sources have hinted that Apple could have faced legal ramifications had they not changed their App Store policy, but Apple has chosen to make this change quitely, making no public statement on the matter.