What is app?
In OpenRTB, an app is non-browser application inventory, such as a mobile game, a news app, or a streaming app on a connected TV, described by the BidRequest.app object. It identifies the app by its store ID and store URL and names the publisher. A request should carry exactly one of app, site, or dooh.
Also called: app object, BidRequest.app, in-app inventory, mobile app inventory.
How it works
App.bundle is the field buyers care about most. It holds the store-assigned ID: a package name such as com.example.game on Google Play, a numeric ID on the Apple App Store, and platform-specific formats on CTV stores, which IAB Tech Lab documents in its guidelines for store-assigned app IDs. App.storeurl points to the store listing, and buyers follow it to the developer website that hosts app-ads.txt. App.publisher identifies the seller, App.cat describes the app's content, and App.content describes the program or episode playing in a streaming app.
Apps rarely have cookies, so identity in app requests usually comes from the device: Device.ifa holds the advertising ID, and Device.lmt says whether the user limited ad tracking. For CTV apps that carry channels from other owners, App.inventorypartnerdomain (OpenRTB 2.6-202211 and later) names the content owner whose app-ads.txt authorizes part of the inventory.
Pitfalls: a bundle that matches no store listing, which looks like spoofed supply; a storeurl that points at a different app than the bundle; and requests that carry both app and site. Buyers also compare App.bundle against the BidRequest.bapp blocklist, so a bundle in a nonstandard format can slip past a block that should have applied.
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Related terms
Every term is in the glossary.