How to localize your App Store and Google Play listing
A store listing in the user’s own language is one of the few ASO changes that works in every market at once, and both stores make it cheap to start. What they do not make obvious is which language a user actually sees, what falls back to your primary language, and what each store translates for you. This guide covers how listing localization works, quoted from Apple’s App Store Connect Help and Google’s Play Console Help as they read on 27 September 2026.
Listing localization side by side
From Apple’s “Localize app information” and Google’s “Translate and localize your app” help pages.
| App Store | Google Play | |
|---|---|---|
| Where you add a language | App Store Connect, from the language menu of the app | Play Console, Store listing > Manage translations |
| No matching localization | the next most relevant localization, otherwise the primary language | users can choose to view an automated translation of the listing |
| What carries over | screenshots and properties default to the primary language, except description and keywords | graphic assets show from the default language unless you add localized ones |
| Translation help in the console | none described on this page | free machine translation for some languages, paid human translation from vendors, Gemini for app strings |
| Targeting by country | localizations follow language settings and storefront languages | custom store listings, recommended for differences by country or region |
Which language users see on the App Store
Apple’s example: if English is your primary language and your only one, your metadata appears in English in all App Store countries and regions. Add a French localization and it shows to users whose language setting is French, and also in countries or regions where the App Store supports French but not English. Users can search for your app with the localized keywords in every country or region where the App Store supports French. If no localization matches a user’s language setting, the next most relevant localization is used; elsewhere the primary language shows. So a localization can reach more storefronts than the one country you had in mind, and each one gets its own keyword field; the keyword rules are in App Store keywords.
Adding a language in App Store Connect
You add languages from the language pop-up menu of the app in App Store Connect, and you can manage languages only when the app status is editable. The roles that can do it are Account Holder, Admin, App Manager and Marketing. When you add a language, screenshots and properties default to the primary language, except the description and keywords, which you enter for the new language. The app name and privacy policy URL for the language are set under App Information. Apple notes that these listing languages are metadata and differ from localizing the app binary in Xcode. If you delete a language, the storefronts that showed it revert to the primary language.
Changing your primary language
You can change an app’s primary language, but only to a language you already added in a previous version and that App Review has approved. Screenshots in that language must be uploaded and approved for all supported platforms, at the same sizes as your current primary language; if they were derived from another localization, you first upload new ones and submit a version. If the app has a custom product page, it also needs screenshots in that language. Screenshot sizes are covered in screenshot sizes.
Translations in Play Console
On Google Play you add languages under Store listing > Manage translations and enter your own title, short description and full description for each. Play Console also offers free machine translation of the store listing and in-app products into a set of languages including Arabic, French, German, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Brazilian Portuguese, Spanish and Thai, which Google notes are not reviewed by humans, and paid human translation ordered from third-party vendors. If you do not translate, Google Play users can choose to view an automated translation of your listing, with a notice that it was translated automatically. Text translations without localized graphics show your default-language graphics, so localize the screenshots too. For different listings by country rather than language, Google recommends custom store listings; see how to promote an app on Google Play.
App strings and language recommendations
Beyond the listing, Play Console can translate your app strings with Gemini models at no cost. Once turned on, translations are generated whenever a new app bundle is uploaded to a draft release, based on the latest strings.xml, and you can preview them in a built-in emulator, edit them, or exclude strings such as brand names from translation. Google warns that right-to-left languages need an RTL-ready app. Play Console may also show a banner recommending languages, based on your install distribution and growth per language compared with apps in your category, your conversion rate per language and the potential market.
Where Censuus fits
Censuus ranks apps by the visits they draw and by sponsorship on the web. Adding your app is free on the List my app form, and it can rise on the visits it earns. Sponsorship raises placement and adds a followed link to your website; details are on the sponsor page. For the rest of the listing, see the ASO checklist. We do not promise downloads or store rankings.
Frequently asked questions
What do App Store users see if I have no localization in their language?
Apple says the next most relevant localization is used, and otherwise your metadata shows in the primary language.
Does a new App Store localization copy my screenshots?
Yes. When you add a language, screenshots and properties default to those of the primary language, except the description and keywords, which you enter for the new language.
Does Google Play translate my listing for free?
Play Console offers free machine translation of the store listing and in-app products into a set of languages, not reviewed by humans. Without any translation, Google Play users can also choose to view an automated translation of your listing.
Can I show a different Google Play listing by country?
Store listing localization works by language. For different listings by country or region, Google recommends custom store listings.
Guides for app developers
- How to promote an app on Google Play with Play Console’s own tools
- How to market an education app: schools, parents and learners
- App store optimization checklist: what Apple and Google actually say
- App Store keywords: how to fill the 100-character field
- App Store and Google Play screenshot sizes: what you must upload
- App Store in-app events: limits, badges and media sizes
Put your app in the ranking
Censuus ranks apps by the visits they draw and by sponsorship, no bots. Listing is free; sponsorship raises placement.