The three fields and their limits
| Field | Limit | Where it shows |
|---|---|---|
| App name (title) | 30 characters | Everywhere; truncated around 20 in lists |
| Short description | 80 characters | Under the title, above the fold |
| Full description | 4,000 characters | Behind "About this app"; first ~2 lines visible |
Each is per language; Play lets you localise all three.
The metadata policy, in practice
Google's metadata policy is the rulebook for these fields, and it is enforced by automated checks and by reviewers. Rejections come from:
- Keyword stuffing: lists of search terms, repeated words, "app apps application android apk".
- Ranking or performance claims: "#1", "best", "top", "most downloaded", "award-winning" without an identifiable award.
- Competitor names or comparisons ("like X but better").
- Price or promotional text in the title or short description ("free", "sale", "50% off"). "Free" in the title is specifically called out.
- Emoji, special characters and ALL CAPS used for emphasis in the title.
- Misleading content: describing features the app doesn't have, or user testimonials that can't be verified.
- Unattributed Google trademarks: "Google Play", "Android" used in ways that imply endorsement.
The template output avoids these. Whatever you add must too.
Turning the template into a listing
- Open with the job. First sentence of the full description: what a user does with the app. "Order from Rosie's Bakery for pickup or delivery, save favourites and get a notification when it's ready."
- Replace adjectives with specifics. "Fast" → "opens straight to today's menu". "Beautiful" → delete; the screenshots do that.
- Describe app-only behaviour. Push notifications, offline access, home-screen launch. This is also what convinces a reviewer the app is more than a website — see the minimum functionality guide.
- Be consistent with reality and with your forms. If you say "we never collect data" and Data safety says analytics, one of them is wrong.
- Finish with support: how to contact you, link to the privacy policy.
Short description that earns the tap
Eighty characters read in one glance. A pattern: who it's for + what it does + the app-only benefit. "Rosie's Bakery: order ahead, track your pickup, get notified when it's ready." Avoid starting with the app name if the title already says it — you are repeating yourself in the most valuable space on the page.
Localisation
If a meaningful share of your website traffic is non-English, add listing translations. Machine translation is acceptable for the full description if reviewed by a speaker; the title and short description deserve a human. The tool's output is English; regenerate per language and translate.