How to Translate App Store Screenshots into 40+ Languages

Quick answer: Put every caption in a string sheet with keys, context and length limits. Translate it (AI for a first pass, native reviewers for key markets), apply the strings to one shared design, fix overflow and right-to-left layouts, swap in localized app captures, then export one folder per language and device size and upload each set to its matching localization.

Translating directly inside design files is how teams end up with 30 slightly different headlines and no record of what was approved. Start with a sheet instead. Each row is one piece of text on one screenshot:

The sheet already shows the most common problem: the first German and French lines run past the 28-character limit and will need a shorter rewrite or a smaller font.

Useful columns to include:

• Key that matches the screen and text role (eyebrow, headline, subtitle).
• Context for the translator: what the screen shows, the tone, whether it's a command or a statement.
• Max characters based on your layout at the font size you want.
• Glossary terms your app's UI uses, so captions match the words customers see after they install.
• Status per language: draft, reviewed, approved.

Not every language deserves the same budget. Match the method to how much each market matters to you:

A practical split: AI translates everything, a native speaker reviews your top five languages, and you revisit the rest when analytics show real traffic. Our AI screenshot guide covers where machine translation helps and where it doesn't. For headline writing itself, see screenshot captions.

The biggest time sink in localization is duplicated artwork: one artboard per language per device, each edited by hand. Instead, keep one master design per screen and switch the language of its text layers. When the design changes, every language inherits the change.

Whatever tool you use, check two things at this stage: every language has every string (no English left behind), and the layout still works with the longest translation.

Translations change shape, not just words.

• Text expansion. German and French often run longer than English, as the sheet above shows. Rewrite before you shrink: a headline set at 60% of its original size stops being readable at thumbnail size.
• Line breaks. Break lines between phrases, not mid-phrase. Japanese and Chinese don't use spaces, so automatic wrapping can split words awkwardly; set breaks by hand for short headlines.
• Fonts. Check that your font has glyphs for every script you ship: Cyrillic, Greek, Vietnamese diacritics, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Arabic, Hebrew, Thai and Hindi often fall back to a system font that doesn't match your design. Choose a family with wide coverage or set a matching fallback per script. Our fonts guide lists good options.
• Numbers and formats. Localize prices, dates, decimal separators and units inside captions.

Arabic and Hebrew read right to left, and a screenshot that only swaps the words looks wrong. For RTL languages:

• Right-align captions and mirror the layout, so the text block sits where the eye starts.
• Flip directional elements such as arrows and progress indicators.
• Show your app's real RTL interface; captions in Arabic over an English UI feel unfinished.
• Don't mirror logos, device frames or photos of people.
• If you use a panoramic layout, check that the story still flows naturally in RTL order.

Translated captions over an English UI are common, but showing the UI in the customer's language is more convincing and avoids mismatches between caption and screen.

• iOS: set the language per run in your Xcode scheme (Run > Options > App Language) or pass -AppleLanguages (de) as a launch argument. For many languages and devices, fastlane snapshot loops over both automatically; see our fastlane snapshot guide.
• Android: change the emulator's system language, or set a per-app language on Android 13 and later, then capture with adb exec-out screencap -p > screen.png.
• Demo data: localize names, currencies and content in your demo account too. A German screenshot full of US addresses gives the game away.

Localization multiplies files quickly. The count is languages × device sizes × screens. Twelve languages × three sizes (iPhone 6.3″, iPad 13″, Google Play phone) × six screens is 216 images.

Keep it manageable:

1. Name folders by language and size, for example de-DE/iphone-6.3/01.png.
2. Export without alpha in JPEG or flattened PNG. Both stores reject transparency.
3. Check sizes with the free screenshot size checker.
4. Upload per localization in App Store Connect. Choose the language in the menu at the top right of the version page. A localization without its own screenshots can end up showing another language's media, so review each one in Media Manager before you submit.
5. Upload per language in Play Console by adding translations to your store listing, each with its own graphics.

ScreenShipper exports a zip with every language × device combination, which maps directly onto these steps. For deciding which languages to add first, see localizing App Store screenshots.