Google Play title rules and the rejections people actually get

Google Play's title rules changed in 2021 and a lot of advice online predates them. Here's what applies now.

The limits

• 30 characters for the title, same as Apple.
• 80 characters for the short description, shown on the listing and used in search ranking.
• 4,000 characters for the full description.

What gets rejected

Google's policy team is much more aggressive than Apple's about promotional language in the title. These will be flagged:

• Words like "free", "best", "#1", "top", "new", "sale", or "download now" anywhere in the title.
• Emoji, emoticons, or repeated punctuation.
• ALL CAPS unless it's your actual brand.
• Rankings or performance claims.
• Calls to action.

A title like "Lumen - Best FREE Focus Timer!" fails on four counts. "Lumen: Focus Timer" is fine.

How Play search differs from the App Store

Play weights the short and full descriptions more than Apple weights its equivalents, so you can afford a brand-only title and still rank for category terms. Google also indexes the developer name, so a descriptive developer name helps a little.

Play does not have a reservation mechanism like App Store Connect. A name is only taken once an app is published, so a clear Play search is more reliable than a clear App Store search. Package names (the reverse-domain ID like com.example.lumen) are unique forever, including deleted apps, so pick that carefully too.

Same name, both stores

If your title clears the App Store's limits it will fit Play's. The extra work is stripping any marketing language you might have leaned on for Apple. Write the Play title first, then reuse it.