Platform Creative Specs for App Ads in 2026: The Full Reference
Every quarter, someone on a growth team loses two hours chasing down creative specs across four different platform help centers. The docs are buried, versioned inconsistently, and occasionally contradict each other. This post is the one you bookmark instead.
Below are the current technical requirements for app advertising creatives on Meta, TikTok, Apple Search Ads, and Google App Campaigns. We've organized it by platform, added safe-zone guidance, and included an FAQ for the questions that come up most in briefs. Nothing here is fabricated — where specs are approximate or subject to variation, we say so.
Why Getting Specs Wrong Costs More Than Time
A rejected creative doesn't just slow your timeline. It can break a test mid-flight, cause a campaign to go live with fallback assets, or result in key UI elements (your app icon, CTA button, first-frame hook) being cropped by platform overlays.
Safe zones are the most commonly ignored spec. Platforms like TikTok and Meta place UI chrome — profile handles, like/share buttons, caption text — over fixed regions of your video. If your motion graphic's CTA text lands in the bottom 20% of a vertical video, a significant portion of viewers will never see it.
Before your design team opens a new canvas, the specs need to be baked into the template — not retrofitted after the fact.
Meta (Facebook & Instagram) App Ad Specs
Meta runs app install and app event campaigns across Feed, Stories, Reels, and Audience Network. Each placement has its own requirements, but you can design to a smaller set of "universal" formats that render acceptably across most.
Video Ads
| Placement | Aspect Ratio | Recommended Resolution | Max File Size | Max Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feed (Facebook & Instagram) | 1:1 or 4:5 | 1080 × 1080 or 1080 × 1350 | 4 GB | 241 minutes |
| Stories & Reels | 9:16 | 1080 × 1920 | 4 GB | 60 sec (Stories), 60 sec (Reels) |
| Audience Network Interstitial | 9:16 | 1080 × 1920 | 4 GB | 60 sec |
Safe zone for Stories/Reels: Keep all text and UI elements between roughly 14% from the top and 20% from the bottom of the frame. Meta places the profile handle and CTA button in those regions.
Accepted formats: MP4, MOV. H.264 encoding, stereo audio at 128 kbps+ recommended.
Image Ads
| Placement | Aspect Ratio | Recommended Resolution | Max File Size |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feed | 1:1 or 4:5 | 1080 × 1080 or 1080 × 1350 | 30 MB |
| Stories | 9:16 | 1080 × 1920 | 30 MB |
Accepted formats: JPG, PNG.
Text Limits (App Install Campaigns)
| Field | Character Limit |
|---|---|
| Primary text | 125 characters (truncated beyond this in most placements) |
| Headline | 27 characters |
| Description | 27 characters |
Write your headline assuming it will be cut at 27. Don't bury your app name or value prop at the end.
TikTok App Ad Specs
TikTok's In-Feed Ads and TopView placements are nearly all vertical video. The platform penalizes static images in auction — video is the default expectation, and TikTok's algorithm heavily favors content that mimics organic behavior.
In-Feed Video (Standard & Spark Ads)
| Spec | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Aspect ratio | 9:16 (preferred), 1:1, 16:9 accepted |
| Resolution | Minimum 540 × 960 for 9:16; 1080 × 1920 recommended |
| File format | MP4, MOV, AVI, GIF (video only) |
| Max file size | 500 MB |
| Duration | 5–60 seconds (9–15 sec performs best per platform guidance) |
| Bitrate | ≥ 516 kbps |
Safe zone: TikTok's UI overlay covers approximately the bottom 20% and the right side 10–15% of the screen. Your hook, app name, and any on-screen CTAs should stay in the center 60–70% of the frame.
Caption / ad text: 1–100 characters. Hashtags count toward the limit but TikTok does not recommend using more than 3–5.
TopView
Same video specs as In-Feed, but duration extends up to 60 seconds and the creative occupies the full screen on app open. Reserved buy, not auction.
Apple Search Ads
Apple Search Ads (ASA) is different from every other platform here because your App Store metadata is your creative. You're not uploading video files to a dashboard — Apple pulls your screenshots, preview videos, and app name directly from App Store Connect.
This makes ASO and ASA inseparable. If your App Store page has weak screenshots, your ASA ads will underperform regardless of bid strategy. That's worth repeating to any founder who treats paid and organic separately.
Creative Assets Sourced from App Store Connect
| Asset | Spec (iOS — Phone) |
|---|---|
| Screenshots | Up to 10 per localization; recommended 6.7" (1290 × 2796 px) or 6.5" (1242 × 2688 px) |
| Preview videos | Up to 3 per localization; 9:16, up to 30 seconds, MP4 or MOV |
| App icon | 1024 × 1024 px PNG (no alpha) — set in Xcode, not ASC |
Custom Product Pages (CPPs): As of iOS 15+, you can create up to 35 alternate App Store product pages, each with its own screenshot sets and preview videos. ASA lets you point specific ad groups to specific CPPs. This is how you run creative testing inside ASA without touching your default listing — and it's significantly underused by teams running app advertising at scale.
Want help building a full App Store creative strategy that connects ASO and paid? Semnexus's mobile app marketing services cover both organic and paid, from screenshot design to campaign management.
Ad Formats
| Format | Placement | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Search Results | Top of search results | Default text ad + screenshots |
| Search Tab | Browse tab | Banner + app icon |
| Today Tab | App Store front page | Full-page visual |
| Product Pages (Display) | Browse / competitor pages | Requires CPP setup |
Character limits for ASA are controlled at the App Store metadata level: App Name is 30 characters, Subtitle is 30 characters. These are not ad-level fields — they're set in App Store Connect and apply everywhere.
Google App Campaigns
Google App Campaigns (formerly Universal App Campaigns) are fully automated — Google assembles creatives from assets you upload and tests combinations across Search, Play, YouTube, Display, and Discover. You don't control placement-level creative. You supply inputs; the algorithm does the assembly.
Asset Inputs
| Asset Type | Specs | Quantity |
|---|---|---|
| Text headlines | Up to 30 characters each | Up to 5 |
| Text descriptions | Up to 90 characters each | Up to 5 |
| Images | Landscape 1.91:1 (1200 × 628), Square 1:1 (1200 × 1200), Portrait 4:5 (1200 × 1500) | Up to 20 total |
| Videos | 15–30 sec recommended; 9:16, 16:9, 1:1 | Up to 20; YouTube URLs or direct upload |
| HTML5 | Google Web Designer format | Up to 20 (optional) |
Max image file size: 5 MB (JPG or PNG).
The automation trap: Because Google assembles combinations, teams often upload a handful of assets and call it done. In practice, you want to upload the maximum number across all dimensions — especially videos at all three ratios. Campaigns that have fewer than 5 videos typically see Google pulling YouTube videos from your organic channel instead, which may not be optimized for conversion.
For a disciplined approach to creative input and testing cadence, see our post on how to build a 12-week creative testing pipeline for app install ads.
Cross-Platform Safe Zone Summary
| Platform | Top Safe Zone | Bottom Safe Zone | Right Safe Zone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meta Stories/Reels | ~14% from top | ~20% from bottom | Minimal |
| TikTok In-Feed | ~10% from top | ~20% from bottom | ~15% from right |
| YouTube Shorts (via Google) | ~10% from top | ~25% from bottom | ~10% from right |
| Apple Search Ads | N/A (App Store UI) | N/A | N/A |
When in doubt, keep all critical visual information in the center 50–60% of a vertical frame. Design for the overlay, not the blank canvas.
FAQ
Do I need separate video files for each platform?
Technically no — a 9:16 1080 × 1920 MP4 under 500 MB will upload to Meta, TikTok, and Google. But you shouldn't use the same cut everywhere. TikTok audiences respond to native-feeling content with text overlays and quick cuts. Meta Feed often favors more polished presentation. Google App Campaigns will reformat your video into multiple ratios automatically, but the results are better if you supply the ratios yourself.
What happens if my creative violates Meta's text-in-image guidelines?
Meta no longer enforces a hard 20% text-overlay rule, but their algorithm still reduces delivery for images with heavy text coverage. Keep primary text in the ad copy fields, not burned into the image.
Can I use the same screenshots for Apple Search Ads and Google Play campaigns?
No. App Store screenshots are vertical (portrait) by default and sized for iOS devices. Google Play screenshots support a wider range of ratios and are sourced separately in Play Console. If you're running app advertising on both platforms, you need two distinct screenshot sets.
How often do these specs change?
More often than most teams track. TikTok and Meta both push spec updates tied to new ad products. Google App Campaigns have been restructured multiple times since the UAC era. It's worth auditing your templates every six months, particularly after major platform announcements (WWDC, Google I/O, TikTok World).
What's the single most common creative spec mistake?
Ignoring safe zones on vertical video. Teams design for a blank canvas, then launch a campaign where the app icon or CTA button is covered by the platform's native UI. The second most common: submitting only one or two video assets to Google App Campaigns and wondering why performance plateaus.
Do character limits include spaces?
Yes, on every platform listed here. Count spaces as characters.
If you're building out app advertising across multiple platforms and want a team that handles both the creative strategy and the campaign execution, take a look at what Semnexus does on the mobile app marketing services page — or book a 30-minute call and walk us through what you're working on.
