Apps that include advertising will be specifically labelled on Google’s Play Store, according to reports, as the search giant tries to help consumers make informed decisions.

The company has already added notifications where titles support in-app purchases.

On its support page for developers, Google said apps with banners, interstitials, native ads and house ads will be marked, but the label “isn’t meant to cover whether an app contains other kinds of commercial content, like paid product placement or offers to make in-app purchases or upgrades”.

“While you’re responsible for accurately declaring ad presence in your apps, Google may verify this at any time and display the “contains ads” label if appropriate,” it said.

Google confirmed to TechCrunch that the change would roll out globally over the next two weeks for all categories.

Play Store apps reach more than one billion Android users across 190 countries. The move could dissuade customers from downloading an app because they want to avoid ads, impacting one of the major ways developers monetise their products.

Last year, Google started labelling ad-supported apps and those with in-app purchases as a part of its ‘Designated for Families’ programme in which apps for children were added to a special ‘family’ section after undergoing additional review.