Last updated 29 July 2026

App Store Localization: Why the Real Limit Is 39 Languages, Not 50

Apple's own Localizations page lists 50 languages for the App Store. Try to add seven of them in App Store Connect and it rejects every one. We hit the real ceiling shipping Bluffle worldwide, and it changes how you should prioritise localisation.

App Store Connect only accepts 39 of the 50 languages Apple documents for the App Store

Apple's public App Store Localizations reference lists 50 languages you can theoretically ship copy in. Open App Store Connect and try to add a localisation in seven of them, Bangla, Marathi, Slovenian, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu or Urdu, and the save fails instantly with the same error every time: The language specified is not listed for localization.

That is not a one-off glitch. All seven rejected the same way, consistently, which puts the real working ceiling for app-metadata localisation at 39 locales, not 50.

It matters because translation is not free even when the tool is. Someone still has to write the app name, subtitle, keyword field and description in that language, and get it reviewed by a native speaker. Commissioning a Bangla or Urdu translation before checking App Store Connect will actually accept it is a wasted brief.

A storefront indexes its default language plus every additional language it supports, so localisations stack

Each of Apple's storefronts has one default language and, in most cases, a list of additional supported languages. Search in that storefront can surface metadata written in any language on that list, not only the default. That is the detail most localisation advice skips: adding a locale does not just serve users who read that language, it can add a whole extra keyword field to a storefront you already publish to.

Most guides on app store localisation treat it as one locale per country: German for Germany, Japanese for Japan, and stop. That model misses every additional language a storefront quietly indexes on top of its default, which is exactly where the free reach in this article comes from.

English (U.K.) is indexed in roughly 172 of 175 storefronts, making it the single highest-leverage locale

English (U.K.) is the default language in 135 storefronts and an additional language in 37 more, which puts it in front of search in about 172 of Apple's storefronts. No other single locale gets close to that reach.

The catch is that it only earns its keep if the copy differs from your English (U.S.) listing. Apple tokenises words, not whole fields, so an identical U.K. and U.S. name and subtitle contribute nothing extra, you are simply paying for the same words twice. Write the U.K. locale with different phrasing, synonyms or word order, and you have genuinely doubled your coverage in every storefront where both are indexed together.

The United States storefront alone indexes ten separate localisations, not one

The U.S. storefront's default is English (U.S.), but its additional languages add Spanish (Mexico), French, Portuguese (Brazil), Russian, Korean, Arabic, Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional and Vietnamese. That is ten localisations, each with its own 1,000-character keyword field, all searchable inside one storefront.

Most teams ship an English (U.S.) listing and stop there. Filling in even the highest-traffic of those nine additional languages, Spanish (Mexico) is the obvious first, adds a free keyword field inside a storefront you already publish to.

The highest-leverage locales to add first, ranked by where they get indexed

Not every locale is worth the translation cost. These are the ones that reach the most storefronts, or stack for free inside your biggest market.

Locale	Role	Where it's indexed
English (U.K.)	Default or additional	~172 of 175 storefronts (default in 135, additional in 37 more)
English (U.S.)	Base locale	United States storefront
Spanish (Mexico)	Additional language	United States storefront
French	Additional language	United States storefront
Portuguese (Brazil)	Additional language	United States storefront
Russian	Additional language	United States storefront
Korean	Additional language	United States storefront
Arabic	Additional language	United States storefront
Chinese, Simplified	Additional language	United States storefront
Chinese, Traditional	Additional language	United States storefront
Vietnamese	Additional language	United States storefront

Never repeat a word across your app name, subtitle and keyword field, because Apple builds the combinations for you

Apple tokenises the app name, subtitle and keyword field, then builds phrase matches across all three itself. A word placed in more than one of those fields is not reinforced, it is wasted, since the combinatorics already cover the pairing without you spending characters on it.

If "party" is already in your app name, do not also put "party" in the keyword field. Spend that character budget on a term you have not used anywhere else, and let Apple's own indexing connect the words already sitting in your name and subtitle. An app called "Party Game" with "party" repeated in its keyword field has spent characters proving something Apple's own tokeniser already knew.

Localise the genre's vocabulary, do not translate your own copy

A literal translation of your English keyword list misses how people in that market actually talk about your category. In Japan this genre is known as ワードウルフ, "word wolf", so players search ウルフ, not a translation of "imposter". In Korea the equivalent term is 라이어, "liar". In Chinese-speaking markets it is 卧底, "mole" or "undercover".

None of those are the Chinese, Japanese or Korean word for "imposter". A translator would never produce any of them. They come from watching what the genre is actually called in that market, the same approach behind how the imposter word game's own word lists are written natively per language rather than translated from one English source.

What to check before your next release

• Confirm which of the 39 working locales you are missing before assuming you already have full coverage.
• Add English (U.K.) with copy that differs from English (U.S.), not a duplicate.
• If you already ship to the United States, fill in Spanish (Mexico) first among the nine additional languages, since it is free reach inside a storefront you already have live.
• Audit your app name, subtitle and keyword field for repeated words and reclaim the wasted characters.
• Where your genre has its own local name, search for that name specifically rather than translating your English terms.

We apply the same rule to every language Bluffle ships in. More on how the app and its word packs get built is on the about page.

Frequently asked questions