Choosing an app category and reading top charts

Choosing an app category and reading top charts on both stores

On the App Store you choose a primary and an optional secondary category, both indexed for search, with up to two subcategories for games; on Google Play you choose one category and up to five tags; pick the category where people already look for your kind of app, then read its top charts as a map of the competition, not as a download count.

Uptika teamPublished: November 5, 2026Last updated: November 5, 20265 min readMarkdown version

Why does the category matter?

The category does two jobs. It decides where people find you when they browse or filter, and on the App Store it is also a search signal: Apple writes that "your primary category and optional secondary category are indexed by our search algorithm". On iPhone and iPad the primary category also decides whether you appear under the Apps tab or the Games tab.

	App Store	Google Play
What you choose	Primary category, optional secondary category	One category (app or game type), up to 5 tags
Games	Games as primary or secondary, plus up to two Games subcategories	Game categories such as Puzzle, Racing, Strategy
Kids	Made for Kids checkbox with an age band: 5 and under, 6–8, or 9–11	Separate Families requirements
Indexed for search	Yes, primary and secondary	Google: categories and tags "help users to search for and discover" apps
Wrong choice	Guideline 2.3.5: "If you're way off base, we may change the category for you"; irrelevant categories are grounds for rejection	Google recommends only obviously relevant tags
Where to set it	App Store Connect > your app > App Information	Play Console > Grow users > Store presence > Store settings > App category

How do you choose the primary category?

Apple suggests three questions, and they work on both stores.

What is the app's purpose? The primary category should describe the main function or subject.
Where do people naturally look for an app like yours? A photo-sharing social app could sit in Photo & Video or Social Networking; ask which one your users would browse.
Where are similar apps? People may already know to look there.

A decision tree for the harder cases:

If your app fits two categories equally, pick as primary the one where the top 10 is weaker (fewer ratings, older updates), and use the other as secondary on the App Store.
If your app is a game, choose the Games subcategories that describe how it plays, not its theme alone.
If you want to appear in the Kids category, you must follow the Kids guidelines for the app and every update; on the age rating screen, "Made for Kids" cannot be changed after approval.
If the category is a stretch, do not choose it. Apple can change it, and a mismatched category brings visitors who will not install.

How do Google Play tags work?

Google Play lets you add up to five tags in the same App category section. Google's guidance is strict: choose tags that make it "very clear to a user who is unfamiliar with the app" why they apply. Its own example: a multiplayer racing game with vintage cars should use "Racing" and "Car racing", not "Stunt driving" or neighbouring genres that might attract similar players. Change tags only after significant changes to the app, and expect up to 24 hours before changes show. Free games also appear on Google Play Games on PC by default.

The App Store has its own, different tags: app tags that Apple generates from your metadata with AI and human curation. They are currently shown only in the United States, and you can deselect unwanted ones under App Information > App Store Tags.

How do you read category top charts?

A category chart is the store's own order of the apps that are winning in that category, in one country, right now. Neither store publishes how charts are computed, so treat the rank as a position, not as a download count.

What charts are useful for:

Sizing the competition. The rating counts and update dates of the top 10 tell you how established the leaders are.
Spotting movement. New entrants and fast climbers show what is working this month: a new feature, a seasonal theme, a campaign.
Choosing a country. The same category can be crowded in one country and open in another.
Tracking your own launch. A first appearance in a category chart is a useful early signal for a new app.

What charts cannot tell you: installs, revenue or why an app moved. Pair a chart move with what changed on the listing and in the reviews before you draw a conclusion.

How do you see charts in another country?

The App Store and Google Play apps show the charts of the country your account and device belong to. To compare countries you need a reading of each country's public charts. Uptika reads category charts every 3 hours (the App Store up to the top 100, Google Play up to the top 200, as listed in the methodology) for the countries it follows.

What are the most common category mistakes?

Picking the biggest category for traffic, then getting lost among apps that do something else.
Choosing a secondary category that adds nothing on the App Store, when it is indexed and could carry a relevant search.
Using Google Play tags as a keyword list for neighbouring genres.
Changing the category often. Each change moves you into different charts and browsing lists, so earlier chart positions stop being comparable.

Where does Uptika fit?

Kategori listeleri (category charts) in the Uptika panel shows your rank in the free and grossing charts of each market over time, the apps around you and the biggest movers since the previous reading. The free Chart Movers tool shows a category's top 10, climbers, new entrants and apps launched in the last 90 days for the markets Uptika reads, and Listing X-Ray compares your rating count with the category's top 10. For the rest of the store page, see What is ASO? and the ASO checklist. Start free to follow your own categories.

Questions

What are the App Store categories and subcategories?

Apple publishes the list with definitions and examples on its Categories and Discoverability page: Books, Business, Developer Tools, Education, Entertainment, Finance, Food & Drink, Games and more. Only Games has subcategories on the App Store for iPhone and iPad, and you can pick up to two of them. Sticker apps for iMessage have their own Stickers category.

How do App Store category rankings work?

Each category has its own top charts per country, and games also have subcategory charts. Apple does not publish how charts are calculated. Read them as the store's own order of the apps that are winning in that category now.

How can I see App Store top charts by country?

The App Store app shows the charts of the country your account belongs to. To compare countries you need a reading of each country's public charts; Uptika reads category charts every 3 hours, and its free Chart Movers tool shows the top 10, climbers and new entrants for the markets it reads.

How many tags can a Google Play app have?

Up to five. Google recommends choosing the tags most obviously relevant to the app and changing them only after significant changes to the app. Changes can take up to 24 hours to show.

Can I change my app's category?

Yes. On the App Store, edit it under App Information in App Store Connect; Apple's "Required, localizable, and editable properties" reference lists when each property can be changed. On Google Play, go to Grow users > Store presence > Store settings and edit the App category section; changes can take up to 24 hours.