Apple's rules for App Store screenshots live in three different places: the App Review Guidelines, the App Store Connect screenshot specifications, and the product page best practices. None of them is long, but developers usually read only one and get surprised by another. This is the 2026 explainer for Apple's App Store screenshot guidelines, all three sources in one page, in plain language.
If your screenshots have already been rejected, the rejection guide is organised by error and gets you back to approved fastest. This post is for reading before you build the set.
The One Guideline That Matters Most: 2.3.3 #
Section 2.3 of the App Review Guidelines covers accurate metadata. Guideline 2.3.3 is the one about screenshots, and it is short enough to quote in full:
Screenshots should show the app in use, and not merely the title art, login page, or splash screen. They may also include text and image overlays (e.g. to demonstrate input mechanisms, such as an animated touch point or Apple Pencil) and show extended functionality on device, such as Touch Bar.
Two things follow from that sentence, and they answer most of the questions people have.
The screenshot must contain your real app. Title art, a login screen, a splash screen or a concept render is not "the app in use". Reviewers apply this literally, and it is the reason AI-generated app screens fail review, which we cover in what AI actually does for screenshots.
Overlays are explicitly allowed. Captions, device frames, arrows, highlighted touch points and marketing text around the real screen are fine. Every polished listing on the store uses them. The rule is that the real app has to be in there, not that the image has to be a raw capture.
The Rest of Section 2.3 #
Four other guidelines in the same section reach screenshots.
2.3.1, accuracy. Do not show features the app does not have. A screenshot of a planned feature, a Pro tier the reviewer cannot find, or an integration that is not in the build is a rejection.
2.3.7, metadata stays in its lane. Screenshots should not carry prices, terms or content that belongs in a different field. "$4.99/month" on a screenshot is a rejection waiting for the day you change the price; it is also a 2.3.7 problem now.
2.3.8, suitable for all audiences. Screenshots and previews must fit a 4+ age rating regardless of the app's actual rating. A 17+ game still needs screenshots without gore or a weapon aimed at a character.
2.3.10, Apple platforms only. No Android device frames, no Google Play badges, no "also on" imagery for other platforms or marketplaces, unless the image shows specific approved cross-platform functionality.
There is also 5.2, intellectual property. Using someone else's logos, characters or a competitor's brand in your screenshots without permission is a rejection, and it is the one that can escalate beyond a resubmission.
What Is Allowed #
Because the guidelines are phrased as restrictions, it helps to state the positive list.
- Captions and headlines over or beside the screen
- Device frames, with or without the physical bezel
- Backgrounds, gradients, brand colours and illustrations around the frame
- Arrows, callouts, highlighted regions and magnified details
- Animated touch points and pencil strokes to show input
- Composites of two or more real screens in one image
- Localized captions per language, and Apple recommends doing this
- Dark Mode screenshots, and Apple recommends including at least one if the app supports it
The test for any of these is simple: is a real, current screen of the app clearly visible, and is everything else truthful. If yes, it is allowed.
The Technical Specifications #
The App Store Connect specifications are separate from App Review, and failing them stops the upload rather than the review.
- Sizes. Each device class accepts specific pixel dimensions. For iPhone, one 6.9-inch set at 1320×2868, 1290×2796 or 1260×2736 is required. For iPad, one 13-inch set at 2064×2752 or 2048×2732. The iPhone, iPad, and Watch and Vision Pro guides have every class, and the complete sizes guide covers Mac and TV too.
- Count. 1 to 10 screenshots per device class per locale.
- Format. PNG or JPEG. No alpha channel or transparency; a transparent PNG is refused at upload.
- Orientation. Portrait or landscape, in any slot. Keep one orientation per set.
- App previews. Up to three per locale, 15 to 30 seconds, at the resolutions in the app preview guide.
Run files through the free screenshot validator before upload and none of these will surprise you.
What Apple Recommends, Beyond the Rules #
Apple's product page guidance is advice rather than policy, but it comes from the people who run the store and it is worth following.
- The first one to three screenshots appear in search results when there is no app preview. They do most of the work.
- Lead with the essence of the app, then give each following screenshot one benefit or feature.
- Include a Dark Mode screenshot if the app supports it.
- Localize screenshots for every market you sell in. Translated captions outperform English-only sets in non-English storefronts. The localization guide covers the workflow.
- Use real device footage for app previews, and make the first seconds visually compelling because previews autoplay muted.
The conversion side of this, which captions work and how to order the set, is in the guide to screenshots that convert.
A Pre-Submission Checklist #
Before uploading, check each screenshot against this list.
- A real, current screen of the app is clearly visible.
- Every feature shown exists in the build being submitted.
- No prices, promotions, rankings or time-limited claims in the image.
- Nothing that would fail a 4+ rating.
- No other platform's devices, badges or store names.
- No third-party logos, characters or brands without permission.
- Pixel dimensions match an accepted size for the slot.
- PNG or JPEG, no alpha channel.
- Captions are translated for every locale that has its own set.
- The first screenshot is the strongest one.
Frequently Asked Questions #
Can App Store screenshots have text on them? Yes. Guideline 2.3.3 explicitly permits text and image overlays. Captions are the norm.
Can I use a device frame around the screenshot? Yes. Frames are an overlay around a real screen, which is allowed.
Do screenshots have to be raw captures? No. They have to show the app in use. Marketing composition around the real screen is fine.
Can I show a feature that ships in the next update? No. Guideline 2.3.1 requires screenshots to match the build being reviewed.
Can I put "Free trial" or a price on a screenshot? Avoid it. Prices and terms in screenshots fall under 2.3.7 and go stale the moment pricing changes.
Are AI-generated screenshots allowed? Only if the app screen inside them is real. An image of an invented interface fails 2.3.3.
Conclusion #
Apple's screenshot guidelines reduce to one principle and a spec sheet: show the real app truthfully, and export files in the sizes and formats App Store Connect accepts. Everything else, from captions to device frames to localized text, is allowed and encouraged. Download Screenshot Studio to build guideline-safe sets around your real captures and upload them in every required size.