When dibbed.dev shows an app store result as taken, people read it like a domain: gone, pick another name. App stores don't work like domains. The two big stores have different rules about name collisions, and on both of them a same-name app is usually a coexistence question, not a blocker.
Apple: names are unique, but subtitles changed the game
The App Store enforces uniqueness on the app name field (30 characters max). If an app is named exactly Acme, App Store Connect will not let you submit a second app named exactly Acme. That's the narrow sense in which an Apple name can be "taken."
But since Apple introduced the separate subtitle field, the convention for the entire industry became Name: what it does — "Notion: Notes, Tasks, AI", "Slack: Team Communication". Names like Acme: Project Tracker or Acme — Habit Builder are distinct name strings and submit fine. In practice, an exact-name squatter costs you the cleanest 4-letter version of your name on one surface; it doesn't cost you the brand.
Two more Apple quirks worth knowing: search matches names, subtitles, and keywords, so users searching your brand can still find you behind a longer name; and Apple periodically frees names attached to apps that were reserved but never shipped, so a parked name isn't necessarily parked forever.
Google Play: duplicate names are simply allowed
Google Play doesn't enforce unique app titles at all. Search "calculator" and you'll get hundreds of apps literally named Calculator. What must be unique on Play is the package ID (com.yourcompany.yourapp) — an identifier users never see.
So a Play "taken" result is really a discoverability report: somebody is already ranking for that word. You can ship under the identical title tomorrow. Whether you should depends on whether you're comfortable splitting search results with them — and on the one thing that actually has teeth.
The thing that actually decides it: trademark
Stores don't adjudicate brands; trademark law does. Both Apple and Google operate takedown processes for trademark complaints, which means the real question isn't "is the name string free in the store" but "would a consumer confuse my app with theirs" — the likelihood-of-confusion test. A meditation app and a logistics API can share a word and both live happily, exactly like companies sharing a name across trademark classes. A direct competitor with a registered mark, on the other hand, can get your listing pulled even if the store accepted the name.
The practical read
- Exact match on Apple — you lose the bare name string; "Name: subtitle" stays open. Check who the publisher is and whether they're in your space.
- Word match on Apple ("contains the name") — normal coexistence; subtitles and keywords differentiate.
- Any match on Google Play — never a hard block; weigh the search-results split.
- Same word + same category + live trademark — that's the actual red flag, and it's a trademark question, not an app store one.
This is why the app store rows on a dibbed.dev check carry an explanation popover instead of a bare verdict: the status tells you what matched, the note tells you what it means for you.
Ready to check a name? Run it through dibbed.dev →