Apple Free Apps Now Labeled As ‘Get’

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If you used the Mac or iOS App Store lately, you might have noticed slight difference.

Apps that are free to download no longer carry the “Free” designation. Instead, they say “Get.” The decision comes after pressure from the European Commission (EC). Over the summer, the EC was able to successfully force Google to relabel its apps that offer in-app purchases. As a result, Google changed the label of its “Top Free Apps” and “Top Free Games” categories to simply, “Top Apps” and “Top Games” in European Union countries.

The EC said labeling games as “free” could mislead customers as the true cost of a game, once in-app purchases were taken into account. Apple has worked over the last year to be more compliant with EU and U.S. regulators, especially when it comes to apps targeting kids. Rather than maintain different branding in different countries’ App Stores, Apple simply replaced “Free” with “Get” on all non-Apple apps. Apple apps that are free still maintain the “Free” designation.

The “Get” designation shows up whether an app has in-app purchase options or not.