How to translate your App Store and Google Play screenshots

If people in other countries already download your app, translated screenshots are one of the cheapest improvements you can make. Someone browsing in German or Japanese reads a headline in their own language much faster, and seeing the app itself in their language tells them it will work for them.

Is it worth it for your app?

Start with the numbers you already have. App Store Connect's analytics and Play Console's statistics both break down downloads and store-page views by country. Look for two things:

• Countries where people already visit your page. If a country brings meaningful traffic but converts worse than your home market, the listing may be the problem, and translated screenshots are a good first test.
• Whether your app itself is translated. Translating screenshots but not the app sets an expectation the app can't meet. If the app is English-only, translate the headlines but keep the screens honest, or wait until the app is localized.

You don't need to do every language at once. One or two markets done well beats ten done with a quick machine translation.

How each store handles languages

App Store

In App Store Connect, each language you add to your app gets its own screenshots, description and other details. Apple's documentation says that when you add a language, its screenshots start out as copies of your primary language's screenshots. You then replace them with translated ones. To upload for a specific language, choose it from the language menu at the top right of your app's page before uploading.

People whose language you don't support see the closest match you do support, or your primary language.

Google Play

In Play Console, you add translations to your store listing, and each language can have its own screenshots and feature graphic. Google's guidelines say that while in-app screens don't need to be redone for every market, "any additional taglines or text overlays should be localized." In other words: if your slides have headlines, translate the headlines.

Capture the app in each language

The best translated screenshots show the app running in that language, not English screens under a translated headline.

iOS

In Xcode, open Product → Scheme → Edit Scheme, choose Run → Options, and set App Language and App Region. Run the app in the Simulator and it opens in that language without changing the simulator's own settings. Region matters too: it controls date formats, number formats and currency symbols, which show up in a lot of screenshots.

Android

On Android 13 and later you can set a language for just your app in the system settings under Languages → App languages (called Languages & input on some versions), if your app declares its supported languages. Otherwise, change the emulator's system language in the same Languages settings.

Use local demo data

Switch your demo data as well: local names, local currency, a realistic local address format. A German budgeting screen showing "$" and "Main Street" looks like an afterthought. For the rest of the capture setup (status bar, appearance, resolution), see our clean screenshots guide.

Translate the headlines

Translate the meaning, not the words

Screenshot headlines are tiny pieces of marketing copy. A word-for-word translation of "Never miss a bill again" can come out stiff or longer than the original. Give your translator the goal of each headline ("reassure people they won't pay late fees") along with the English text, and ask for something short and natural.

Plan for longer text

Many languages take more space than English. German, Finnish and French headlines often run noticeably longer, while Chinese, Japanese and Korean are usually shorter but need larger characters to stay readable. Practical steps:

• Write English headlines that leave room: if the English barely fits on two lines, the German won't.
• Check each translated slide at small size, the same way you would in English.
• If a translation is too long, ask for a shorter phrasing rather than shrinking the font.

Check the characters render

Not every font includes every alphabet. Before uploading, check that accented letters, Cyrillic, Greek, and Chinese, Japanese or Korean characters display correctly in your final images, with no empty boxes or mixed-looking fonts.

Get a native speaker to review

Machine translation is a fine first draft. Have someone who speaks the language read the finished slides, not just the text in a spreadsheet, because they'll catch awkward line breaks and tone that a list of strings hides.

Right-to-left languages

Arabic and Hebrew are read from right to left, and apps that support them usually mirror their layout: navigation, icons with direction and lists flip sides. For these languages:

• Capture the app in the right-to-left language so the screens are mirrored as customers will see them.
• Right-align or center headlines rather than left-aligning them.
• Check any arrows or "swipe" cues in your slide design point the right way.

A simple workflow

1. Finish your English (or primary-language) set first and get it approved.
2. Write a one-line goal for each headline and send the headlines and goals for translation.
3. Capture the app in each language with local demo data, using the same screens in the same order.
4. Build each language's slides with the same colors and layout as the original, so the brand stays consistent.
5. Have a native speaker review the finished images.
6. Upload each set under its language in App Store Connect and Play Console.
7. After a few weeks, compare conversion in that country with the period before.

In the Studio, the quickest way to do step 4 is to finish one language, download it, then replace the screenshots and headlines slide by slide for the next language. Your theme, layout and frame stay the same.