1. The hard limit is 30 characters - and it applies to every localization. Google's Metadata policy (https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/9898842) states plainly: "Your app title must be 30 characters or less." The same limit is repeated in Best practices for your store listing (https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/13393723). Play Console enforces a 30-character counter on the App name field, and both articles add that the Metadata policy applies to all translations of your listing - so a compliant English title does not license a 45-character Thai, Indonesian or Spanish one.
2. Keyword stuffing is a policy violation, not a rankings hack. The Metadata policy bans metadata that is "misleading, improperly formatted, non-descriptive, irrelevant, excessive, or inappropriate", and its list of common violations explicitly names "Word blocks and vertical/horizontal word lists". That is the classic stuffed title pattern: "Photo Editor - Collage Maker, Stickers, Filters, Camera, Selfie, Beauty, Retouch". Titles, icons and developer names must also avoid emojis, emoticons (including kaomojis) and repeated special characters; avoid ALL CAPS unless it is part of the brand name; and carry no text or image that signals store performance or ranking ("#1", "App of the year", "Best of Play 20XX", "Popular", award or trophy icons), price or promotional information ("Free", "10% off", "$50 cash back", "No Ads"), or Google Play programmes ("Editor's Choice", "New").
3. Where keywords may legitimately live: the description fields. The short description (promotional text) must convey the message in 80 characters or less and is what surfaces in search results; the full description allows 4,000 characters. Google's own advice is to keep descriptions succinct and straightforward because users read only the first few sentences; not to repeat the short description in the full description; and to avoid excessive length, detail, improper formatting and repetition of words. The official counter-example is a bare keyword list: "Car racing, car driving, race cars, car races, race track, driving, drive, race, cars, vehicles, automobiles, trucks." Write for the user's search intent, not for a crawler.
4. Brand and relationship boundaries. Metadata must not imply a relationship to a company, developer, brand or app that you do not have - "WhatsApp helper" or "Facebook video downloader" constructions are treated as misleading behaviour/impersonation. Do not include unattributed or anonymous user testimonials, do not make data comparisons of apps or brands, and do not use a celebrity name or a third-party logo without permission.
5. What enforcement looks like. Improper metadata is caught at submission review (rejection) and the same policy is used against live listings (removal plus strikes against the account). Because the title is the most visible field, a keyword-list title is the single most reliable way to get a new upload bounced.
6. The ASO levers that are still allowed. Keep the title unique, accessible and non-generic: brand plus core function is the compliant pattern. Cover secondary search intents naturally in the short description and in the opening lines of the full description, where the weight is highest. Localize properly - machine-translated keyword salad is a frequent enforcement trigger. Test claims with Play Console store listing experiments (https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/12053285) instead of guessing, since icon, screenshots and descriptions can be A/B tested on real traffic.
7. Renaming checklist. Confirm the new title is 30 characters or fewer in every locale; strip keywords, awards, emojis, price words and competitor brands; keep the developer name consistent with the brand; check the icon for misleading symbols (no fake update dot, no fake download badge); and remember that title and icon changes go back through review. Practitioner reporting (community discussion: https://www.reddit.com/r/androiddev/search/?q=play+store+app+name+keyword+stuffing+policy) is that accumulated listing signals can shift after a rename, so plan a rename around a version update rather than changing the title repeatedly.