Google has bought the .app domain name for $25m, using it as “a domain space for application developers”.
The deal means that Google will be able to create web addresses like “google.app” or “android.app.”
Google has its own domain registry where users can buy their own web addresses.
The .app TLD may become available through that route, though Google hasn’t confirmed those plans.
Google beat competition from 12 other bidders including Amazon for control of the domain name, meaning that it now has control of the new generic top level domain (gTLD) and has sole rights to sell any domain names ending in .app.
Google’s winning application revealed that the search giant plans on “providing a dedicated domain space for application developers”.
Google was initially planning on making the domain name a closed shop, keeping tight control over who could resister such an address, but following pressure from governments the company will make the .app address available to everyone through traditional channels.
The proceeds of the public auction to sell the .app domain will go directly to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) which is the body which oversees the maintenance of all domains.
The $25,001,000 paid by Google is far and away the largest amount paid for one of these gTLDs to date, with the previous record being $6.7m for the .tech domain paid last September by Dot Tech LLC.
Google also announced today that it’s going to start testing advertisements in the Play Store. Combining those ads with .app domains could lead to a whole new level of app discovery.