Translating your subscriptions (App Store)
Localize the name and description of your subscriptions and subscription groups in App Store Connect, with character limits, fallback behavior and Apple's review rules.
Subscriptions and in-app purchases have their own listing, separate from your app's: they aren't part of the metadata Releasely pushes for you. Their name and description are translated one by one, in App Store Connect. This page explains where and how.
Where this happens
App Store Connect → Apps → your app → Monetization → Subscriptions. Translations live at the app level, not the version level: they don't depend on submitting a build.
What can be translated (and what can't)
A subscription carries three texts, but only one is internal:
- the Reference Name — a working name visible only in App Store Connect and your sales reports. It is never shown to users and isn't translated;
- the Subscription Display Name — the name users see, 30 characters max;
- the Description — the text users see, 45 characters max.
The price isn't translated: Apple automatically displays it in the user's currency and number format, based on the price tiers you picked.
Translating a subscription
Open the subscription, then the App Store Localizations section. Add a language with the + button, and fill in the Display Name and Description for each one.
Repeat for every subscription: Apple offers no bulk import and no automatic translation.
Write short from the source language
30 and 45 characters is very little — and a German translation often runs 30% longer than the original. Leave room in your source text instead of truncating language by language.
Translating the subscription group
The group holding your subscriptions has its own translations, separate from the subscriptions themselves. Its Group Display Name (30 characters) is the title users see when they manage, switch or resubscribe from their iPhone settings or from the App Store.
This one is classically forgotten: subscriptions are translated, but the management screen stays in English. Translate the group into the same languages as the subscriptions it contains.
What users see when a language is missing
If the device language isn't among your translations, the App Store falls back to your app's primary language — the one set in App Store Connect. So nothing shows up empty, but a Japanese user may well see your English text.
The rule of thumb: translate your subscriptions into the same languages as your App Store listing. If your listing is in English, French and Spanish, your subscriptions should be too.
Inside the app too
If your app renders its paywall from StoreKit values (displayName, description, displayPrice)
rather than hard-coded strings, these translations flow through automatically to your
subscription screen. Otherwise you have to translate them a second time in code.
Review and updates
Subscription translations are reviewed by Apple, like the rest of your listing:
- First submission — a subscription needs at least one localization, a price and a review screenshot (your in-app purchase screen) before it can be submitted. It goes to review alongside your first version.
- Editing a live subscription — changing a name or description sends it back to In Review. The previous text stays live for users until approval, so nothing breaks while you wait.
- Adding a language — same principle, and it has no impact on the languages already approved.
A common rejection: names that oversell
Apple rejects names and descriptions that describe a promotion ("50% off", "Limited offer") or that don't match what the subscription actually unlocks. Describe the content, not the deal.
On the Android side
The same task exists on Google Play, with different limits and a different fallback mechanism — see Translating your subscriptions (Google Play).
App Store metadata & settings
Understand each field of your App Store listing and complete the settings you must fill yourself in App Store Connect (age rating, content rights, privacy…).
Version submission
The information Apple asks for when you create a version and submit — review information and encryption declaration.