When does a .app domain expire and drop?
An expired .app drops about 80 days later. Here is that timeline in full, plus the HTTPS-only rule, who runs .app, and how to register one.
An expired .app is released about 80 days after expiry, on the standard ICANN lifecycle. .app is a generic top-level domain operated by Google Registry, aimed at software and mobile apps and HTTPS-only: the whole TLD is HSTS-preloaded, so every .app needs a valid TLS certificate to load in a browser.
- Registry
- Google Registry
- Backend
- Google Registry
- Type
- gTLD
- Delegated
- 2015-06-25
- DNSSEC
- Yes
- IDN
- Yes
- Restrictions
- Open
- Label length
- 1–63 chars
- Grace
- 45 days
- Redemption
- 30 days
- Pending delete
- 5 days
- Expiry to drop
- 80 days
- Daily drop window
- 13:00–20:00 UTC
A secure home for apps
.app is a contracted ICANN gTLD run by Google Registry, so its deletion path is the standard one: up to 45 days of auto-renew grace, 30 days of redemption, and 5 days of pending delete.
Like .dev, it is HSTS-preloaded, so a browser will not load a .app over plain HTTP. That makes it a natural fit for consumer apps and download pages where a security signal matters, while the lifecycle behaves like any other Verisign-era gTLD.
Who runs .app, and since when
.app was delegated in 2015 and is operated by Google Registry on its own registry infrastructure, launched as one of the first HTTPS-only TLDs.
The lifecycle is the plain ICANN contract, run on Google Registry's platform, so its stages need no special-casing. The distinguishing decision was security policy, not deletion timing.
How to register a .app domain
A .app is open to anyone with no eligibility rules. As with .dev, the practical requirement is HTTPS: without a valid certificate the site will not load, so plan for TLS from the start.
No local presence, one-year minimum, any accredited registrar. The HTTPS-only behaviour surprises people expecting a plain-HTTP holding page.
- Open registration: anyone worldwide can hold a .app domain, with no local-presence requirement.
- Register through any accredited registrar; the registry sells wholesale, not direct to the public.
- Labels run up to 63 characters using letters, digits and hyphens, never starting or ending with a hyphen.
- Registration is annual and renewable; an unrenewed name enters the deletion timeline below.
The .app timeline, stage by stage
The stages an unrenewed .app passes through, each at its ICANN-contracted length.
| Stage | Window | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Renewal grace: about 45 days | Day 0 to 45 after expiry | The registration has expired but the current owner can still renew at the normal price, usually through their registrar. The name often stops resolving during this window, and nobody else can register it. Registrars frequently delete earlier than the final day, which starts the rest of the timeline early. |
| Redemption: about 30 days | Day 45 to 75 after expiry | Deletion has begun. Only the current registrant can recover the name now, typically by paying a restore fee on top of the renewal, and it cannot be registered by anyone else. A restore during this stage is a strong signal the name will not drop. |
| Pending delete: 5 days | Day 75 to 80 after expiry | The point of no return. Recovery is no longer possible for anyone, including the original owner, and the registry releases the name at the end of this fixed window. This is the stage worth acting on if you want the name. |
| Released: registrable by anyone | From about day 80 | The name leaves the registry's deletion pipeline and returns to the public pool, registrable at the standard price on a first-come basis through any registrar. Availability monitoring exists to catch this moment. |
.app technical profile
How .app publishes registration data, secures its zone, and handles non-Latin names.
WHOIS and RDAP
Registration data for every .app domain is queryable over RDAP at https://pubapi.registry.google/rdap/ and legacy WHOIS at whois.nic.google, so status, dates and record changes are machine-readable, which is exactly what our monitoring reads.
DNSSEC
The .app registry supports DNSSEC, so a domain can publish DS records and let resolvers cryptographically validate its DNS answers against tampering.
Internationalized names
The .app registry supports internationalized domain names, so labels in non-Latin scripts register as punycode alongside ordinary ASCII names.
https://pubapi.registry.google/rdap/
whois.nic.google
The whole .app zone is on the HSTS preload list, so every name is HTTPS-only with no plain-HTTP fallback. DNSSEC is supported and registration data is published over RDAP as with any gTLD.
Is .app a good domain?
Where a .app makes sense.
Made for apps
An exact-match .app is an unambiguous home for a product, a download page or a web app, and reads as purpose-built rather than repurposed.
HTTPS enforced
Every .app is encrypted by construction, a trust signal that suits anything handling logins or user data without per-domain configuration.
Room to name
As a newer extension, .app still has strong product and category names available that are long gone in .com.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about .app domains.
Why does my .app require HTTPS?
The entire .app TLD is on the HSTS preload list, so browsers force HTTPS and refuse plain HTTP. Every .app needs a valid TLS certificate to load.
How long does an expired .app take to drop?
About 80 days: up to 45 days of auto-renew grace, 30 days of redemption, then 5 days of pending delete.
Who runs the .app registry?
Google Registry has operated .app since 2015 on its own infrastructure. It is a standard ICANN gTLD, sold through accredited registrars.
Is .app a good domain for a product?
For an app or a product download page it is a strong, legible fit with an enforced-HTTPS trust signal. For a broad brand site a .com still reads more neutrally.
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