How to Cite a Mobile App

Apps are moving targets. The name on the icon stays the same while the interface, the defaults and sometimes the whole feature set change beneath it, so a reference that omits the version is a reference to nothing in particular. Every style here has a slot for the version; Harvard also asks for the date you downloaded the app, for the same reason.

The worked example is a real app, verified on 22 September 2026 through Apple's own App Store lookup service: Zotero, App Store item 1513554812, developer Zotero, seller Corporation for Digital Scholarship, current version 2.0.7 released 25 June 2026, first released 17 March 2022, listed under Productivity and requiring iOS 16.6 or later. Its store page is apps.apple.com/us/app/zotero/id1513554812.

What to Collect

• The developer or producer, as the store credits them
• The app name, exactly as listed
• The version number you used
• The platform: iOS, Android, iPadOS
• The store: App Store, Google Play, or another distributor
• The store URL
• The date you downloaded or last updated it

Quick Reference by Major Style

APA (7th Edition)

APA's Common Reference Examples handout has no mobile-app entry, so the format below comes from two independent university guides that publish one. The University of Queensland Library's APA 7th guide gives this template, verbatim:

Murdoch University's APA guide publishes the same shape. Its example, verbatim:

Applied to the verified example:

In-text: (Zotero, 2026)

UQ's rule on when an entry is needed is worth reading before you write one: software or apps that are common to your field or audience do not need an in-text reference or a reference-list entry, and can simply be named with the version in brackets in your text; apps with limited access or distribution, and any app you quote or paraphrase from, do.

MLA (9th Edition)

The MLA Style Center has no post on citing apps. Its stated approach for source types it has not covered separately — set out in its post on citing maps — is to follow the MLA template of core elements: author, title of source, title of container, version, publisher, publication date, location. Applied that way, and labelled here as the template applied rather than an MLA-published app example:

In-text: (Zotero)

Chicago (18th Edition)

The free Chicago Citation Quick Guide has no app entry. Murdoch University's Chicago author-date guide does: it files apps under Internet Content, alongside web pages. Its example, verbatim:

That shape has nowhere to put a version number, which for an app is a real loss. Following it while keeping the version where a reader can see it:

In-text: (Zotero 2026)

If your department follows Chicago and has an app entry of its own, use theirs; The Chicago Manual of Style, 18th ed., is subscription-only and may treat this case in more detail.

Harvard (Cite Them Right)

The University of Sheffield Library's Harvard guide, which states that it is based on Cite Them Right, publishes an App entry. Its template and example, verbatim:

Sheffield adds that if the developer or producer is not available, the title of the app goes in italics in its place, in both the reference and the in-text citation. Applied to the verified example:

In-text: (Zotero, 2026)

IEEE

The IEEE Reference Guide has no app section; it covers apps under Software, whose basic format is, verbatim:

IEEE also states that it follows the FORCE11 Software Citation Principles, one of which — specificity — is that a citation should identify the specific version used, "such as using version numbers, revision numbers, or variants such as platforms". Applied to the verified example:

In-text: [1]

Missing Elements

No version number shown. Some store listings hide it behind a "version history" link, and some apps ship continuously. Give the date you downloaded it instead, which is exactly what Sheffield's template asks for.

No named developer. Sheffield's rule applies: put the app's title in the author position, in italics.

An app distributed outside a store. Enterprise or research apps are often sideloaded or distributed by a university. Name the distributing body where the template asks for the store, and give the URL you got it from.

A web app rather than an installed app. Cite it as a website or as software, not as a mobile app, and say which you mean.

A different platform from the one your reader will try. Say which platform you used. "Version 2.0.7" means nothing without knowing whether that is the iOS or the Android build.

Common Mistakes

• Omitting the version, so the behaviour you describe cannot be checked
• Citing the store's front page instead of the app's own listing
• Confusing the developer's display name with the legal seller on the listing
• Giving the date you first heard of the app instead of the release or download date
• Writing a full reference for an app so common in your field that your guide says to name it in the text
• Citing a review of the app as though it were the app

Sources for These Formats

• Apple App Store lookup record for item 1513554812 (app name, developer, seller, current version and release date, first release date, store URL), itunes.apple.com/lookup
• University of Queensland Library, APA 7th guide, "Software and mobile apps", including its rule on when a reference is required
• Murdoch University Library, APA guide, Mobile app entry; and its Chicago 18th author-date guide, Internet Content (App / Software)
• MLA Style Center — checked for an app post and found not to have one; the template-of-core-elements approach is MLA's own, stated in "How do I cite a map?"
• The Chicago Manual of Style Citation Quick Guide — checked for an app entry and found not to have one
• University of Sheffield Library, "Harvard referencing" (based on Cite Them Right), App
• IEEE Reference Guide, section O, Software, and the FORCE11 Software Citation Principles reproduced there
• APA Style, Common Reference Examples handout (last updated 3 March 2026) — checked for an app entry and found not to have one

Full style rules: APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard, IEEE.