As
first reported by MacRumors and verified by Gamasutra, Apple has taken steps to better highlight games and other apps that offer in-app purchases with a new IAP label that appears in the App Store charts and lists.
Apple added a small "Offers In-App Purchases" disclosure statement to the individual store pages of IAP-capable apps last March, but today's iOS update -- version 7.1.1 -- adds a similar "In-App Purchases" disclaimer to those apps when they appear on the Apple App Store category pages and Top Charts lists. The image above is taken from the Top Grossing list on the App Store.
Since many iOS users find new apps for either themselves or their family members by checking those lists and category pages, it seems likely that Apple has quietly appended these IAP labels in an effort to minimize those users' opportunities to complain about being charged for IAP without the "informed consent" of the account holder.
Back in January, Apple
agreed to pay up to $32.5 million in refunds to any Apple account holder who could prove they were billed for in-app purchases made by children without their knowledge or consent.
