.this
Is .this a real TLD? Who’s applying to run it?
.this is not contested. One application for it is on ICANN’s Reveal Day list, as of 7 October 2026. It is Suffix. Link Freedom Group named .this as a backup string for its .gen application. ICANN deactivated it, because another applicant applied for the same string or named it as a backup.
Who is applying, and what they run today
None of the 2 is tied to a registry that runs TLDs today. Link Freedom Group and Suffix filed 182 applications between them across the round.
Will names sell?
A playful word-ending for phrase domains like built.this or watch.this; fun for side projects, but few serious brands would live on it.
Last round the AI scored the 2012 strings blind to their fate. Strings it scored 60 or more hold a median 27,168 names today; those under 30, a median of 30. .this’s closest 2012 strings hold .here 4.
The nearest 2012 strings, and how many names each holds today
The closest 2012 string, .here, held 4 names, June 2026. Chosen by AI from every string in the 2012 round, without being told what happened to any of them.
- .and
Same bet: a pure English function word with no standalone meaning or category to own, monetizable only if registrants buy the left-of-dot half and read the whole name as one phrase, so the registry is selling grammar rather than a namespace.
- .are
Same bet: a grammatical glue word whose entire value depends on sentence-domain constructions (we.are, you.are), where nobody puts a primary identity on the right of the dot and the string only works as syntax.
Same class of deictic pointer word sold as a phrase completer, but it has a real standalone semantic job (place/local) that a demonstrative like .this lacks, so the bet is partly category and partly grammar.
indie makers, creators, and campaign marketers who want a phrase-style address (made.this, watch.this, love.this) for side projects, portfolio pieces, and shareable one-off links
What a .this domain is
.this is not a TLD yet. It is a string on our record of the ICANN 2026 new gTLD round, in our Culture category. One application for it is on ICANN’s Reveal Day list.
Is the .this domain extension real yet?
.this is not yet a domain extension you can register: nothing resolves under it, and no registrar sells names in it. It is a string applicants have put forward in the ICANN 2026 new gTLD round, the process that decides whether it becomes one.
When can you buy a .this domain?
You can’t yet. A .this name can only be registered once the string is delegated (added to the DNS root) and its registry opens.
Is .this a real TLD?
Not yet. .this is not in the DNS root, so nothing resolves under it. It’s here because .this is on ICANN’s Reveal Day list of applied-for strings. Every entry on this page links to its source.
- Link Freedom Group · now deactivated backupICANN
- Link Freedom Group · now abandonedICANN
- Suffix · now confirmedICANN
- Suffix · now announced
- Suffix · first recordedSuffix Inc.
- Link Freedom Group · first recordedLink Freedom Group
“LFGL2683T-T46709 · Link Freedom Group Ltd · replacement string of .gen · Deactivated SI2639T-T10771 · Suffix Inc. · primary”ICANN
“Catalog lists: .asap .create .future .lfg .mvp .out .pal .planet .research .share .tag .this .visit”Suffix Inc.
“.this · Lifestyle · “Anything goes, no limits.””Link Freedom Group
- Band chosen: usable but limited (30-49), at its low end. The string is a bare demonstrative pronoun with no category meaning, so its value rests almost entirely on the phrase-hack pattern: verb.this and subject-verb.this constructions read as natural English and are genuinely memorable. By analogy (flagged as analogy) with expressive-word TLDs and with country-code endings that thrived on wordplay hacks, that pattern reliably attracts novelty and campaign registrations but has historically translated into shallow renewals and little primary-identity use; those namespaces settled into volume-and-price registries rather than brand standards. It is not in the strong-niche band (50-69) because there is no identifiable buyer group for whom .this is the explained-once default identity, and no category the word names. It is not in the vanity band (10-29) because the hack works across many phrases and use cases, not just one joke or one event, giving it broader low-grade utility than a pure novelty string. The applicant, Link Freedom Group, filed more than 300 strings in the ICANN 2026 round and lists this one under category Lifestyle with the tagline 'Anything goes, no limits.', which signals a broad open-registration positioning rather than a curated community; that is consistent with volume-driven adoption. Registration volumes, pricing, and comparable-TLD figures are unknown, so all adoption dynamics here are qualitative. Main market uncertainty: whether phrase-hack registrations convert into renewed, primary-identity use at any meaningful rate, or churn as one-campaign throwaways.