Why screenshot captions matter more than the description
Most users decide whether to install within the first three screenshots. They rarely tap “more” to read the full description, so the caption overlaid on each screenshot is doing the persuading. A shopper in Japan or Brazil scanning English captions has to translate in their head, and friction at that moment costs you the install.
Localizing captions is also the highest-leverage part of App Store localization: the value proposition is already written, you are adapting it rather than inventing it, and the visual layout stays the same across every locale.
Start from the public listing URL
You do not need App Store Connect access to begin. Every published listing has a public URL that exposes its current screenshots for each device. Copy the URL from the App Store app (Share → Copy Link) or from a browser:
- Open the app’s App Store page and copy its full URL.
- Paste the URL into App Store Localizer to import the live iPhone and iPad screenshots.
- Confirm the imported set matches what is currently live — device sizes, order, and count.
Importing from the live listing means you translate the screenshots users actually see today, not an outdated export sitting in a design file.
Translate the visible copy, not just the words
Good caption translation adapts the message for the market rather than swapping words one-for-one. Watch for these in particular:
- Length: German and Finnish run long, while Japanese and Korean run short. A caption that fits in English may overflow its banner in another language.
- Idioms and wordplay: a clever English pun usually has no equivalent — translate the intent, not the joke.
- Numbers and units: localize currency, dates, and measurement units so the screenshot feels native.
- Calls to action: “Get started free” carries a different tone across markets; keep it natural rather than literal.
Keep the layout intact
The hardest part of screenshot translation by hand is preserving the design while the text changes length. Re-typesetting every caption in a design tool for ten languages is where most teams give up. The workflow that scales keeps the original framing, background, and device mockup fixed and only re-renders the text layer per locale, adjusting size to fit the available space.
Export locale-ready image sets
App Store Connect expects screenshots at specific pixel dimensions per device class. Before you upload, make sure your exported set is correct:
- One folder per locale, named with the App Store locale code (for example fr-FR, de-DE, ja).
- Correct dimensions for each device size you support (6.7″ / 6.9″ iPhone, 13″ iPad).
- Consistent ordering so the same feature appears in the same slot across locales.
- A manifest mapping each file to its locale and slot, which makes upload — manual or automated — predictable.
Once you have validated one locale end to end, the rest follow the same template. From there you can download the bundle for manual upload or publish directly to App Store Connect.