Google Play Store Showing Old App Icon and Screenshots After Update? Here's What I Discovered
I recently updated my Android app's icon, screenshots, descriptions, and store listing in Google Play Console. The changes were successfully published, but the public Play Store was still showing old assets. After investigating, I discovered something important about Play Store locales and store listings.
Have you ever updated your Android app's icon, screenshots, description, and store listing in Google Play Console, waited more than 48 hours, and still seen the old screenshots or icon on the public Play Store?
I recently faced exactly this issue with my Android app, AroundMe Places. At first, I assumed it was simply a caching problem.
The changes were actually published successfully. The problem appeared to be related to how Google Play was serving the store listing depending on the locale being requested.
What I Updated in My Google Play Store Listing
I made several changes to my app's store presence, including:
Updated the Google Play Store app icon.
Updated phone, tablet, and Chromebook screenshots.
Updated the short and full descriptions.
Uploaded a new feature graphic for the store listing.
Updated the public app name displayed on Google Play.
Changed the app category from Lifestyle to Travel & Local.
The Changes Were Successfully Published
I checked my Google Play Console publishing history to make sure I hadn't simply forgotten to publish the changes.
My published submission included:
- Change app name
- Change short description
- Change full description
- Change app icon
- Change phone screenshots
- Change 7-inch tablet screenshots
- Change Chromebook screenshots
- Change feature graphic
- Change app category
First I Suspected a Cache Problem
My first assumption was that Google Play or my browser was showing an older cached version.
So I opened the Play Store listing in an Incognito window.
Unfortunately, I was still seeing the old icon and screenshots.
❌ What I Expected
- New app icon
- New screenshots
- New description
- Updated category
🔍 What I Actually Saw
- Old app icon
- Old screenshots
- Some updated content
- Different listing information
I waited more than 48 hours, but the problem was still there.
The Discovery: The Locale in the Play Store URL
Then I noticed that the Play Store URL I was checking contained a locale parameter:
?hl=en_IN
I removed the hl=en_IN parameter and opened the Play Store page again.
The result was surprising.
I was now seeing different store listing content.
The public Play Store experience was not identical when I viewed the app using different locale parameters.
Google Play Was Showing Different Listing Results
When I compared the public Play Store pages, I noticed differences in the content being displayed.
🇮🇳 en_IN Locale
The Play Store page using the en_IN locale was showing a different version of the listing.
- Different screenshots
- Different description content
- Different listing information
- Different category information
🌎 Default Listing
Removing the locale parameter resulted in a different public listing experience.
- Newer listing assets
- Updated screenshots
- Updated store content
- Different listing metadata
In my case, one version of the listing showed the Travel & Local category, while another appeared to show the older Lifestyle category.
That was a major clue.
It suggested that the issue wasn't simply that Google Play hadn't updated the assets. Instead, the Play Store appeared to be resolving the listing differently depending on the locale.
Why Can This Happen?
Google Play supports different store listing configurations for different languages, countries, and audiences.
Developers can also create Custom Store Listings, which can target specific countries or user segments.
Different countries can potentially receive different store listing experiences.
Store listings can vary based on language and locale settings.
Custom listings can target specific countries or user segments.
Experiments can potentially expose different listing variants to users.
How to Troubleshoot Old Play Store Assets
If you've updated your app icon or screenshots but users are still seeing the old version, here's the process I recommend.
Check the Main Store Listing
Open Play Console → Grow users → Store presence → Main store listing. Confirm that your new icon, screenshots, feature graphic, app name, and descriptions are actually present.
Check Publishing Overview
Go to Play Console → Publishing overview and confirm that the changes are marked as Published.
Check Submission History
Open the published submission and verify that the changes to the icon and screenshots were actually included in that submission.
Test in Incognito Mode
Open the public Play Store URL in an Incognito or private browser window to rule out browser caching.
Test Different Devices
Check the listing from another phone, browser, Google account, or network. This can help determine whether the issue is device-specific.
Test Different Locales
Try opening the Play Store listing with different locale parameters, such as:
?hl=en_IN
Compare the result with the default Play Store URL.
Check Custom Store Listings
Go to Play Console → Grow users → Store presence → Custom store listings. Look for listings targeting specific countries, regions, or user segments.
Check Store Listing Experiments
If you're running store listing experiments, check whether another variant is currently being shown to users.
If your submission is already marked as Published, don't immediately create another submission with the same icon and screenshots. First investigate whether Google Play is serving a different localized or targeted listing.
What If I Want the Same Listing Globally?
If your app has the same branding and screenshots worldwide, you may want to keep your store listing structure as simple as possible.
Default Store Listing
↓
Same App Icon
↓
Same Screenshots
↓
Same Feature Graphic
↓
Consistent Global Branding
You can still localize your store listing text when necessary. However, if you don't need country-specific marketing assets, avoid creating unnecessary custom listings.
The more listing variations you maintain, the harder it can become to understand which version a particular user is seeing.
My Biggest Takeaway
In my case, the changes were successfully published.
The new icon and screenshots were present in the published submission.
The interesting part was that the public Play Store experience appeared to differ depending on the locale used to access the listing.
This is something I probably wouldn't have noticed if I had only checked the Play Console dashboard.
Final Checklist for Android Developers
- Check Main Store Listing — Are the new assets visible?
- Check Publishing Overview — Is the change actually published?
- Check Submission History — Was the icon and screenshot update included?
- Test Incognito — Rule out browser caching.
- Test Another Device — Check whether the issue is device-specific.
-
Test Different Locales — Compare different
hlparameters. - Check Custom Store Listings — Look for country-specific or audience-specific listings.
- Check Store Listing Experiments — Make sure another variant isn't being served.
- Don't Immediately Re-upload — Investigate the listing configuration first.
Conclusion
Updating an Android app's Play Store listing isn't always as straightforward as uploading a new icon or screenshot and waiting for it to appear.
Sometimes the changes are successfully published, but the public Play Store experience can differ depending on locale, country, custom store listings, or experiments.
My experience with AroundMe Places taught me an important lesson:
If you're facing a similar issue where your new Play Store icon or screenshots aren't showing after an update, checking the locale and store listing configuration could save you a lot of time.
Tags: Android Development, Google Play Console, Google Play Store, App Publishing, Android Apps, Flutter, Mobile App Development, Google Play Store Listing
