What is .app?
.app is a new generic top-level domain operated by Google Registry and aimed at mobile, web and desktop applications. The whole TLD is on the HSTS preload list that browsers ship with, so browsers refuse to load any .app site over plain HTTP: a working TLS certificate is a practical requirement for a .app website.
Who can register it
Open to anyone through ICANN-accredited registrars. There is no eligibility check, but you must be able to serve the site over HTTPS.
WHOIS, RDAP and privacy
An RDAP service for .app (pubapi.registry.google) is published in the IANA RDAP bootstrap file. OrbitProbe reads registration data from it first, as structured JSON: registrar, creation and expiry dates, EPP status codes and nameservers. For gTLDs, personal contact data has been largely redacted from public output since the rules ICANN introduced in 2018 in response to the GDPR. In most lookups you will see redacted fields or the details of a privacy service instead of a registrant name. OrbitProbe only ever shows the organisation name and country.