Apple's App Store metadata character limits
Every metadata field in App Store Connect has a hard character cap. Going over it does not just trigger a warning — App Store Connect will not save the field, and if you uploaded it via the App Store Connect API your version stays in a broken state until you fix it. This counter mirrors Apple's UTF-16 code-unit counting so the number you see here matches what Apple will accept.
| Field | Limit | Per locale? | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| App name | 30 characters | Yes | Visible everywhere your app appears. Apple's review team rejects names that include taglines, ranking claims ("#1"), price claims, or competitor names. |
| Subtitle | 30 characters | Yes | Indexed for search. Use it for the most descriptive 1-line value statement, not a slogan. |
| Promotional text | 170 characters | Yes | Editable without submitting a new version. Refreshes within hours. Use for time-bound copy. |
| Description | 4000 characters | Yes | Not indexed for search. Focus on conversion, not keyword stuffing. |
| Keywords | 100 characters total | Yes | Comma-separated, no spaces around commas. Indexed for search. Do not duplicate words from name/subtitle. |
| What's New | 4000 characters | Yes | Per version, per locale. Required when you submit a new version. |
| Marketing URL | URL | Yes | Optional. Often points to a feature page or campaign landing page. |
| Support URL | URL | Yes | Required. Apple checks that it resolves before approving the app. |
Field-by-field: what works, what gets rejected
App name (30 characters)
The most-rejected field after privacy URL. Apple's review guideline 2.3.7 forbids metadata that is "irrelevant, inappropriate, or misleading." In practice this means: no "free" or pricing claims, no rank claims ("#1 fitness app"), no other apps' or companies' trademarks, no emoji, no "App" / "Free" suffixes, no taglines glued on with a colon. If you currently have "AppName: The Best Fitness Tracker", move "the best fitness tracker" into the subtitle and trim the name to brand only.
Subtitle (30 characters)
The subtitle is indexed for App Store search alongside the keyword field. This is your highest-leverage 30 characters: a clear, one-line value statement that includes a search-relevant term you do not already use in the name. Generic subtitles ("Made simple", "The best app") waste the slot. Specific subtitles ("Track blood test results over time", "AI receipt scanner for freelancers") rank.
Promotional text (170 characters)
The only metadata field you can change without submitting a new version. It refreshes on the App Store within a few hours. Use it for: launch announcements, seasonal promotions, new feature callouts that did not justify a full release-notes entry, and time-bound calls to action ("Tax season — import your year of receipts"). Promotional text is not indexed for search.
Description (4000 characters)
Not indexed for App Store search since iOS 14. That changes the optimal structure: descriptions should optimise for conversion, not keyword density. The first 3 lines are visible above the "more" cut on every device — front-load the value statement, put the most compelling feature list immediately after, and use short paragraphs. Long unbroken text reads as a wall and gets skipped.
Keywords (100 characters total, comma-separated)
The single most over-thought field in App Store Connect. Three rules cover most of the optimisation:
- No spaces after commas. "
health,blood test" not "health, blood test". Spaces eat into your 100-char budget. - No words you already used in the app name or subtitle. Apple combines all three for indexing — duplicating wastes characters.
- Singular forms only. Apple stems plurals automatically. "
biomarker" indexes for "biomarkers", "biomarker tracking", etc.
What's New / release notes (4000 characters per locale)
Required for every version. App Store reviewers read these and use them to spot what changed since last review. Vague entries ("bug fixes and improvements") still pass review but rank lower with users who tap "version history" before installing. A short bulleted list of concrete improvements signals an actively maintained app.
Tip: AppConsul's metadata editor enforces these limits live across every locale you support, with the same UTF-16 counting Apple uses, and warns if you accidentally duplicate keyword tokens between your name, subtitle, and keyword field. See AppConsul →
Frequently asked questions
What are Apple's App Store metadata character limits in 2026?
App name: 30 characters. Subtitle: 30 characters. Promotional text: 170 characters. Description: 4000 characters. Keywords field: 100 characters total. What's New (release notes): 4000 characters per locale. Marketing URL and Support URL: standard URL length, but Apple recommends keeping them short. These are per-locale limits — you can have different content of up to that length in every locale.
Does Apple count emoji and accented characters as one character?
Apple's App Store Connect form counts characters based on UTF-16 code units. Most single-codepoint emoji count as 2; combining marks may count differently than you visually expect. Standard accented Latin characters (é, ñ, ü) typically count as 1. This counter mirrors that exact counting.
Can I leave promotional text blank?
Yes — it's optional. But because you can update it without submitting a new version, it's a useful slot for time-bound copy that you'd never want to wait through a review cycle to ship.
Why does my description look longer in App Store Connect than here?
App Store Connect counts every character — including line breaks, double newlines for paragraph spacing, and trailing whitespace. This counter does the same. If your text looks shorter visually but App Store Connect rejects it as over the limit, check for trailing newlines, double spaces, or invisible characters pasted from a word processor.
Doing this every release? Use AppConsul.
AppConsul's metadata editor runs all of these limits live across every locale, with offline editing, undo/redo, and direct App Store Connect API sync.
See AppConsul →