The question behind the notebook
A free install button is an incomplete description of an app’s cost. We wanted a traceable way to separate three things visitors often collapse into one question: the upfront download price, an advertising label, and an in-app purchase label. The result is a small census of the 100 apps in the OOZGM collection, not a survey of the entire app market.
The observation is useful because it gives you a starting point for an app-specific question. An advertising label suggests checking where advertising appears in the workflow. A purchase label suggests checking which action triggers payment. Neither tells you whether a particular subscription is worthwhile for you.
How we collected the evidence
On 2026-10-24, an automated collector requested each app’s official Google Play web listing using English (US) and the US store parameter. It recorded the listing URL, retrieval timestamp, developer attribution and the presence of the visible phrases “Contains ads” and “In-app purchases”. It also retained the public structured-data download price. The complete raw observation is kept with the site source; the CSV below exposes the relevant comparison fields.
Each row represents one package identifier. We did not count app variants as independent observations, infer purchases from the description, or treat a subscription mentioned elsewhere as proof that the listing displays a purchase label. Product icons are obtained from the same official listing solely to identify the app.
What “not observed” means
It means the label was not found in the retrieved page, under those request conditions. It does not mean the app is ad-free, has no subscriptions, or cannot redirect you to a paid service. A shopping app can process expensive purchases without those purchases being described by the store’s in-app purchase label. A streaming subscription can be arranged outside the Android app. Label coverage and regional behavior can differ.
A label is also not a measurement of interruption. Two apps can both display “Contains ads” while presenting radically different experiences. We did not install these apps, count ad impressions, measure permissions in use, test purchases, or assess the security of their code. Those questions require a separate device-based study.
How to use the observations
Start with the field guide for an app you are considering. Pick a representative task and follow it all the way to its useful output: an exported image, a completed lesson, a playable download, or a finished booking. Note the precise moment when an ad or payment request appears. Then compare that friction with how often you expect to perform the task.
For example, a photo editor might let you assemble a design but require payment for an asset used in the export. A game may have an optional purchase that does not affect your intended short session. The listing label tells you to ask the question; your complete workflow supplies the answer. Our comparison tool places the evidence beside the editorial use case so neither is mistaken for a verdict on its own.
Selection and reproducibility
The collection is purposive: everyday software across eleven categories, selected for recognizable tasks and useful differences. It is not random, ranked by popularity or representative of every country. Do not interpret the proportions above as market-wide statistics or compare them with another collection without controlling for selection, date and region.
To reproduce a row, open its linked official listing, use the same country and language settings where available, and inspect the visible labels. A later disagreement can reflect a changed page, a different account or locale, or an error in collection. Send the package identifier, URL and what you observed to our corrections contact; we will investigate rather than silently rewriting a historical snapshot.