URL to app glossary
The words you meet when a web address becomes an Android app — WebView, TWA, App Links, AAB, keystore and the rest — each in two or three plain sentences.
- AAB
- Android App Bundle — the publishing format Google Play requires for new apps. Play builds device-specific APKs from it. Read more →
- Adaptive icon
- Android's icon format with separate foreground and background layers that launchers mask into shapes.
- Android App Links
- Verified https links that open directly in your app without a chooser. Read more →
- APK
- Android Package — the file format Android installs. Signed with a private key; can be shared and sideloaded. Read more →
- Application ID
- Android's build-time name for the package name. Read more →
- assetlinks.json
- The file at /.well-known/assetlinks.json listing which apps may handle your domain's links. Read more →
- Cleartext traffic
- Unencrypted http. Blocked by default in Android apps since Android 9. Read more →
- Closed testing
- A Play Console track for a limited set of testers; new personal accounts must run one before production. Read more →
- Custom Tab
- A Chrome window opened on top of an app with the app's colours. Used for sign-in flows that WebViews can't do. Read more →
- Data safety form
- Play Console's declaration of what data an app collects and shares.
- Deep link
- A link that opens a particular screen in an app. Read more →
- Digital Asset Links
- The verification system (assetlinks.json) that proves an app and a website belong together. Read more →
- disallowed_useragent
- Google's 403 error when OAuth sign-in is attempted inside an embedded WebView. Read more →
- Google Play Billing
- Google's in-app payment system, required for selling digital goods in most Play apps. Read more →
- HTML app
- An app whose web files are packed inside the APK and load offline, unlike a URL app. Read more →
- Intent filter
- A manifest entry telling Android which links or actions an app can handle. Read more →
- intent:// URL
- A link format that tells Android to open a specific app, used by store buttons and payment apps. Read more →
- Keystore
- The file holding the private key that signs your app. Every update must be signed with the same key. Read more →
- Link scope
- The rule deciding which links load inside the app and which open in the browser or another app. Read more →
- Minimum functionality
- Google Play policy rejecting apps that are broken, empty or just a website without app value. Read more →
- Mixed content
- http resources on an https page; WebViews block them by default. Read more →
- Native push
- Notifications delivered through an SDK like Firebase Cloud Messaging or OneSignal built into the app. Read more →
- Package name
- The app's permanent unique ID, like com.example.app. It can't change after publishing on Google Play. Read more →
- Play App Signing
- Google holds your app signing key; you sign uploads with a separate upload key that can be reset if lost. Read more →
- Progressive Web App (PWA)
- A website with a manifest and service worker that browsers can install and run full-screen. Read more →
- Service worker
- A script your site registers to cache pages and assets, enabling offline use and faster repeat visits. Read more →
- SHA-256 fingerprint
- A short hash identifying a signing certificate, used in assetlinks.json and API console settings. Read more →
- Sideloading
- Installing an APK from outside Google Play, after allowing “install unknown apps” for the source.
- Splash screen
- The screen shown while the app starts, usually your icon on a solid colour.
- Start URL
- The address a URL app opens on launch. Changing it needs a rebuild. Read more →
- Target API level
- The Android version an app is built against. Google Play raises the minimum each year. Read more →
- Theme colour
- The brand colour used for the status bar and app chrome. Read more →
- Trusted Web Activity (TWA)
- A way to show a verified PWA full-screen in the user's Chrome instead of an embedded WebView. Read more →
- URL to APK
- The Android-specific name for URL to App: the output is an APK file you can install directly. Read more →
- URL to App
- Converting a web address into an installable app. On Android the result is an APK or AAB whose main screen loads the URL in a WebView. Read more →
- User agent
- The string a browser or WebView sends to identify itself. WebViews include “; wv)”. Read more →
- versionCode
- A whole number that must increase with every update; Android uses it to decide which build is newer. Read more →
- versionName
- The human-readable version shown to users, like 1.2.0.
- Web app manifest
- A JSON file describing a site's name, icons, colours and start URL for installation as a PWA.
- WebView
- The Android component that renders web pages inside an app, powered by Chromium and updated through Google Play. Read more →