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New generic extensionSince 2015

.app domain registration

The extension for apps: it says at first sight that there’s an app or a service behind the name, and its sites open only over an encrypted HTTPS connection.

Score card

.app in six cells

Our score out of five, as we see it when we help a customer choose.

Trust
4 out of 5
Easy to remember
5 out of 5
Global reach
3 out of 5
Price stability
5 out of 5
Short names available
3 out of 5
Local meaning
1 out of 5

Overview

What is .app

.app entered the internet’s root in 2015, and its name is short for application. It is run by Google’s registry, listed at IANA as Charleston Road Registry Inc. It is for anyone building a phone or web app, or a service customers come to use, not only to read.

What sets it apart is that the whole extension is on the HSTS list built into browsers: no .app site opens except over HTTPS. If your site has no SSL certificate it doesn’t open at all; that protects your visitors from eavesdropping, and asks you to have the certificate ready before you launch.

It asks for no documents, supports names in Arabic and DNSSEC signing, and its price with us is the same every year. Because it is familiar in the app world, others got to many of its short words before you; but the choice is still wider than in .com, and the name you pick follows your app into stores and ads.

Type
New generic extension (new gTLD)
In the root since
June 25, 2015
Name’s origin
application
Responsible body
Charleston Road Registry Inc.
Who may register
Anyone, person or organization, from any country
DNSSEC
Supported
Names in Arabic
Supported (IDN)

Who it suits

For your field: is .app the best fit?

Every field has an extension that says something about it. Here is what .app says in each, and which extension completes it.

  • A phone app

    Excellent · The first choice

    The app’s page and download links under a name that says what it is, and .com for those who type it out of habit.

    Register it with.app.com

  • A web service or platform

    Excellent · The first choice

    Your customer comes to work, not to read, and the required encrypted connection reassures them as they type their details.

    Register it with.app.io

  • A tech startup

    Good · A good fit

    Short and familiar in tech; if your product is an app, it describes it more truly than .com.

    Register it with.app.com

  • A local business in Bahrain with an app

    Good · A good fit with .com

    If your business has an app, .app is for it, and .com for the site your customers in your city know.

    Register it with.com.app

  • A blog or content site

    Consider another · Consider .blog

    It promises your visitor an app; if they find articles, the name feels unlike what they read.

    Register it with.blog.com

  • An online store

    Consider another · Consider .store

    Buyers look for a store, not an app; .store or .com says so more clearly, unless your store is an app.

    Register it with.store.com

What it does for you

What you gain when you register it

  • Encryption with no exceptions

    Every .app site opens over HTTPS alone, so nothing your visitors type travels unencrypted.

  • A name that says what it is

    Your customer knows before clicking that there’s an app to use behind the link.

  • Download links under your name

    mawid-manama.app leads to your app’s page and its download links in one place.

  • A fixed price

    The first year and every renewal cost the same with us, so there’s no surprise after an offer.

And where its value shows

In the app store

Your site’s link beside your app’s name.

On the sign-in page

The name and the padlock reassure whoever types a password.

In the app’s ad

A short name remembered after the ad ends.

In activation messages

An activation link in your app’s name, not a stranger’s.

Pros and cons

What you should know before you register

Frankly, as we’d tell a customer who asks us before registering.

Pros

  • 01Says at first sight that it’s an app
  • 02HTTPS required across the whole extension
  • 03Short and familiar: three letters
  • 04The same price with us every year
  • 05Open to everyone, with no conditions or documents
  • 06Supports names in Arabic and DNSSEC signing

Cons

  • 01The site won’t open without an SSL certificate
  • 02It promises an app, so it doesn’t suit a site for reading
  • 03Others got to many short words before you
  • 04Says nothing about your country or your language

Rules

Registration terms for .app

What the registry requires and what we add, in one place.

Who may register
Anyone, person or organization, from any country
Documents
None required
Name length
Up to 63 characters
Characters
a–z, digits and hyphens, never first or last
Names in Arabic
Supported (IDN)
Registration term
1 to 10 years
DNSSEC
Supported
Privacy protection
Optional, for a separate fee
Transfer
60 days after registration or the last transfer, with an EPP code; adds a year to its term

Life cycle

From registration until the name is free again

What happens to your name if it isn’t renewed, and when you can still get it back.

  1. 01Registration1 to 10 yearsThe name is yours from the moment you pay, for the term you chose.
  2. 02Before expiry31 days, then 8 days beforeWe remind you twice by email; auto-renewal saves you the reminder.
  3. 03After expiryDays 1–8The website and email stop; renew within these days at the regular renewal price.
  4. 04AuctionFrom day 10The name may go to auction; if it sells, it passes to its buyer.Domain recovery policy
  5. 05Redemption30 daysIf the registry offers it after deletion: a $200 redemption fee plus a year’s renewal.
  6. 06Final deletion5 daysThen the name is free again for anyone to register.

Tips

Before you register

  1. 1Have the SSL certificate ready before launchBrowsers won’t open a .app site without it, so make it the first step, not the last.
  2. 2Make the domain the app’s own nameAs it appears in the store and on the screen, so your customer never looks for two names.
  3. 3A short name, read as it’s writtenIf it needs spelling out on the phone, it’s too long or too complicated.
  4. 4No digits or hyphens that need explainingEvery hyphen or digit has to be said, and what has to be said gets forgotten.
  5. 5Renew automatically, or register for yearsUp to 10 years at once, so you never miss a date.
  6. 6Make sure the name isn’t someone else’s trademarkA registered trademark’s owner can recover the name from whoever registered it first.

Nearby extensions

If your name is taken in .app

FAQ5 questions

Frequently asked questions about .app

Didn’t find your answer? Our technical support team is with you around the clock.

Contact support

  • $26 a year, for the first year and every renewal: the price you see when you search, with no other fees at registration.

  • Anyone, person or organization, from any country, with no documents or conditions; the contact details in the owner’s name just need to be accurate.

  • Yes, once 60 days have passed since it was registered or last transferred. Ask your current provider for the transfer (EPP) code and open a transfer request with us; a full year is added to the domain’s term.

  • We remind you by email 31 days and 8 days before expiry, and 3 days after it. After expiry the website and email stop, and you can renew in the first eight days at the regular renewal price; from day 10 it may go to auction. If it is deleted and the registry allows redemption within 30 days, the redemption fee is $200 plus a year’s renewal.

  • Yes. The body responsible for .app has an Arabic table in IANA’s repository of internationalized names (IDN), so the name is written in Arabic and stored in a form that begins with xn--.

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