# An app name is a nickname, not a primary key

Stable identifiers keep research attached to the right product when names, publishers and listings change.

By AppRill Editorial · Published 2026-09-08
Canonical: https://apprill.app/blog/app-identity-store-id-bundle-id

Two apps can share a name. One app can change its name. A publisher can operate several related products. A spreadsheet keyed only by title will eventually develop a personality disorder.

Use the store's stable app identifier as the starting point for each platform record. Keep bundle or package identifiers where available, along with the store URL and observed publisher relationship.

## Model relationships explicitly

An iOS listing and an Android listing may represent the same product family, but that relationship should be supported rather than assumed from a similar icon. Country availability and feature sets can differ.

A publisher relationship can also change. Preserve when it was observed instead of treating the current publisher as an eternal property of every historical record.

## Make merges reversible

When two records appear to describe the same product, retain the original identifiers and the reason for the match. A manual correction should not erase the source evidence.

For a hypothetical app-research catalogue, separate an exact store-link match from a fuzzy name match. The latter can suggest a candidate for review; it should not silently attach revenue or advertising evidence with the same confidence.

## Test the awkward examples

Include renamed apps, translated titles, common names, publisher portfolios and discontinued listings in your matching checks. The ordinary case is easy. These cases reveal whether your system preserves identity under change.

If you cannot establish a relationship, leave it unresolved. A visible unknown is easier to investigate than a confidently wrong association hidden inside a polished profile.

Identity work rarely produces a striking launch screenshot. It determines whether every later comparison concerns the business you intended to study.

Before adding more data sources, make sure they agree on which app they are talking about. Otherwise, the richer profile may simply contain more information about several different things.


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