---
title: Screenshot Localization
description: Auto-translate the captions and text baked into your screenshots into each target language.
---

Your screenshots carry text — headlines and captions rendered directly into the image. Screenshot Localization reads that text off each screenshot, translates it into your target languages, and re-renders a localized copy of the screenshot with the translated text in place. The background, layout, and device frame stay as they were; only the words change.

## Before you start

- You need the **editor** role on the project, and a plan that includes localization. See [Plans and entitlements](/docs/billing/plans-and-entitlements).
- Set your [Target Languages](/docs/localization/target-languages) first. Localization runs into the languages you've enabled, translating *from* your primary language.
- You need existing screenshots to localize. The feature works on rendered screenshot images, not on a design file.

## What gets localized

Apptonomy detects the text on each screenshot and localizes only the **significant** text — headlines and captions. It deliberately skips device-interface chrome: the status-bar clock, battery percentage, AM/PM, and signal indicators (LTE, 5G, WiFi) are left untouched, so a localized screenshot doesn't end up with a "translated" clock.

Screenshots with no significant text are passed through unchanged.

## How it works

For each screenshot and each target language, Apptonomy:

1. **Reads the text** off the image.
2. **Translates** the significant text into the target language, respecting your [translation voice](/docs/localization/translation-workflow#translation-voice) and target-language hints.
3. **Re-renders** the screenshot with the translated text painted back into the same position, preserving the original background, layout, and mockup.
4. **Quality-checks** the result — it re-reads the localized image, confirms the expected translated text is present, and measures how far the text moved. Each localized screenshot gets a quality score, and low-confidence results are flagged.

The output is a localized screenshot per target language, stored against your listing revision.

:::note[Right-to-left languages]
Screenshots localized into a right-to-left language (such as Arabic or Hebrew) are flagged for review, because RTL text can change how a caption lays out against a background designed for left-to-right text. Check these before you publish.
:::

## Localization status

Each language's screenshot localization carries a status:

| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| **Pending** | Queued, not started |
| **In progress** | Localization running |
| **Completed** | All screenshots localized and passed quality checks |
| **Partial** | Some screenshots localized cleanly; others were flagged |
| **Failed** | Localization could not be completed |

Individual screenshots that need a closer look are flagged with a reason — for example, missing text, a text-render problem, significant layout drift, low text-detection confidence, a fallback render, or an RTL layout. Treat **Partial** as "most of this language is done, but review the flagged screenshots."

## Verify it worked

- The target language's status reads **Completed** (or **Partial** with a short list of flagged screenshots).
- Each localized screenshot shows the translated headline in the same position as the source, with the background and device frame intact.
- Review any flagged or RTL screenshots before publishing.

## Troubleshooting

### Some screenshots came back flagged

A **Partial** status means the run finished but some screenshots didn't meet the quality bar — the text may have shifted, been hard to read back, or fallen back to a simpler render. Review each flagged screenshot and, where needed, fix the source screenshot text or supply a cleaner source image, then localize again.

### A screenshot's text wasn't translated

Only significant headline and caption text is localized; small text and interface chrome are skipped by design. If a caption you expected to be translated was left alone, it was likely below the size threshold or matched an interface-chrome pattern. Make the caption a first-class headline in the source screenshot.

## Related

- [Target Languages](/docs/localization/target-languages) — choose the languages screenshots are localized into
- [Translation Workflow](/docs/localization/translation-workflow) — localize your listing text fields
- [Screenshot Engine](/docs/audit-engines/screenshot-engine) — scores screenshot effectiveness
- [How Listing Localization Works](/docs/guides/listing-localization) — how each store selects a shopper's language