App Store subtitle examples: write a clear 30-character promise

Write the supported task before trimming the sentence

Start with the action the released app can demonstrate. For a fictional walking journal, write save a note about a place during a walk, then shorten the sentence while retaining its meaning. A phrase about directions would change the expected task if the app has no navigation. List the assumptions your draft creates: offline access, shared editing, a specific audience or an immediate outcome. Check each assumption in the build before keeping it in the listing.

Use the before-and-after examples as editing exercises, not as proven keywords. The first draft may be vague, repeat the brand or promise an unsupported result. The rewrite addresses one of those problems. Ask another person what they think the app does after reading the two fields, and record their answer before explaining your intent. If the answer describes a different product, revise the wording. A sentence fitting the character limit does not resolve that comprehension problem.

Read the app name, subtitle and keyword field together

Place the exact name beside the subtitle in your working document. The name may already explain part of the task. A fictional app called Card Ledger does not need its subtitle to repeat the whole brand before explaining binder organization. Repetition can also be intentional when it helps a reader understand a familiar expression; review the whole phrase rather than deleting every repeated token automatically. The objective of this exercise is a clear product promise, not a mechanical score.

Keep your keyword draft in the same record so that the next person can review the combined metadata. Apple advises against repeating name, subtitle or category words in the keyword field. Our checker flags matching normalized words as an editing prompt. It does not identify every synonym, grammatical form, trademark or linguistic relationship. For example, a name containing collection and a subtitle containing collect need a human review even when no exact-word overlap is flagged. Verify relevance separately from the field count.

Check the exact draft for each locale

The editable forms send your entered name, subtitle and optional keyword field to the existing metadata checker. The subtitle count includes spaces and punctuation and uses Unicode code points. The displayed original count belongs to the example as published; editing the form does not update that number until you submit for a fresh review. The form allows an over-limit draft so the report can explain the amount to remove. Check the final localized text in App Store Connect before saving it.

Keep one record for each intended language instead of shortening a translation without a fluent review. A combined emoji or a letter with a separate combining accent can look like one symbol while containing multiple code points. This planning count is not a promise that every console validation rule uses the same text representation. When a locale fails validation, preserve the exact submitted string and console message, then review the phrase without changing what the app promises. Shortening a task into an unfamiliar abbreviation can make the listing harder to understand.

Plan a release review and measure the right result

Apple describes subtitle updates as part of submitting a new app version. Promotional text follows a different update workflow and has a separate 170-character limit. Keep those fields distinct in your release checklist. Write the proposed subtitle, intended locale, reason for the change and owner of the console update. Ask the reviewer to inspect the resulting page and first-use journey; a draft check never publishes metadata or establishes App Review acceptance.

If you later assess the change, record the date, storefront, acquisition source and other listing or product changes made at the same time. Apple recommends monitoring search performance in App Analytics and notes that Apple Ads performance also appears there. A simple before-and-after rate can describe an observation, but it does not isolate the subtitle as its cause. Preserve the measurement definitions and compare compatible periods. If there is too little data for a useful decision, keep the result open rather than presenting a ranking or conversion win.

Your next steps

• Name one supported product task and inspect it in the build.
• Read the exact app name and subtitle together before reviewing keyword overlap.
• Check the entered text and review each intended locale with a fluent reader.
• Record the release update and assess search data with consistent filters.