App Store Reviews: How Developers Get Ratings and Reply to Them

App store reviews are the star ratings and written reviews users leave for an app on Apple’s App Store and Google Play, and they affect both whether people download your app and how it appears in store search. To manage them well, ask for ratings inside the app using each platform’s official prompt at a moment when users are getting value, reply to reviews through App Store Connect and the Google Play Console, fix the problems reviews keep raising, and report reviews that break the store’s rules. Neither store removes honest negative reviews because a developer disagrees, so the fastest way to improve your rating is usually a better app plus a steady stream of genuine ratings.

This guide is for developers, product managers and support teams responsible for an app’s reputation in the stores. Store features change regularly, so we keep the steps general; check Apple’s and Google’s current developer documentation for exact menus.

How ratings and reviews work in each store

Both stores let users give a one-to-five star rating and, optionally, write a review. Ratings are the larger pool, because many users tap a star without writing anything. The summary rating shown on your store listing is built from those ratings.

	Apple App Store	Google Play
Where you read and reply	App Store Connect (and the App Store Connect app)	Google Play Console
Official in-app prompt	StoreKit review request API	Google Play In-App Review API
Prompt limits	The system limits how often the prompt appears	A quota limits how often the review flow appears
Rating reset	Developers can choose to reset the summary rating when releasing a new version	Google has said its rating gives more weight to recent ratings
Users can edit reviews	Yes	Yes

In both stores, ratings are generally shown per country or region, so an app can have a strong rating in one market and a weak one in another, often because of localization or payment issues specific to that market.

Step 1: Ask for ratings the right way

Most satisfied users never rate an app unless asked. Frustrated users often rate without being asked. A well-timed prompt corrects that imbalance.

Use the official in-app prompts

Apple’s App Review Guidelines expect apps to use Apple’s provided API to prompt users for a rating, rather than a custom pop-up that sends people to the store. Google Play offers the In-App Review API, which lets users rate without leaving your app. Both systems decide whether the prompt actually appears, and both limit how often a user sees it, so you can’t show it on every launch and shouldn’t try.

Pick the right moment

Trigger the request after a user has had a success, not in the middle of a task or right after an error. Good moments include:

• Completing a workout, a lesson or a level.
• Finishing a purchase or a booking that went smoothly.
• Returning to the app several times over a few days.

Bad moments include the first launch, during onboarding, straight after a crash, or while a user is trying to pay.

Don’t gate or reward ratings

• Don’t pre-screen users with an “Are you enjoying the app?” question and only send the happy ones to the store prompt. That’s review gating, it conflicts with store policies, and the FTC has warned that asking only customers you expect to be happy can mislead consumers. Our guide on review gating explains the problem.
• Don’t offer rewards such as in-app currency, extra lives or unlocked features in exchange for a rating. Both stores prohibit incentivized ratings.
• Don’t buy ratings or reviews, use review farms or have staff rate your own app. Both stores work to detect and remove manipulated ratings, and they can take action against the developer account. The FTC’s rule also bans fake reviews. See our guide to the FTC fake review rule.

It’s fine, and useful, to give users an easy way to send feedback or contact support from inside the app. Just keep it separate from the rating prompt, and offer it to everyone rather than using it to divert unhappy users away from the store.

Step 2: Reply to reviews in the store consoles

Both App Store Connect and the Google Play Console let developers post a public reply to a review. Replies appear under the review on the store listing, and users may be notified when you reply. That makes a reply a chance to fix the relationship, and some users update their rating after a helpful answer.

Prioritize replies to:

1. Reviews reporting a bug you’ve fixed. Tell them which version fixes it.
2. Reviews reporting a bug you’re working on. Acknowledge it and point to support.
3. Billing and subscription complaints. Explain how to manage or cancel, and route them to support. Refunds for store purchases are usually handled through the store itself.
4. Detailed feature feedback. Thank them and say honestly whether it’s on your roadmap.

Here is an example reply to a one-star review about crashes:

Thanks for reporting this, and sorry the app was crashing when you opened the calendar. We found the cause and fixed it in version 4.2, which is now available. If you still see the problem after updating, please contact us through Settings, then Help, and we’ll look into your device specifically.

Keep replies short, specific and polite. Don’t copy and paste the same reply to every review, don’t argue, and never ask for passwords or payment details in a public reply. Our guide on how to respond to negative reviews has more on tone.

Step 3: Report reviews that break store rules

Both stores give developers a way to report a review that breaks their policies. In App Store Connect, look for the option to report a concern on the review; in the Google Play Console, look for the option to flag or report the review. Reviews that may qualify include ones that:

• Contain hate speech, harassment, threats or sexual content.
• Include personal information, such as a staff member’s phone number.
• Are spam, advertising or links unrelated to your app.
• Appear to be part of a coordinated attack rather than genuine user experiences.
• Are clearly about a different app.

A review that is harsh, unfair or based on a misunderstanding generally stays up. Reply to it instead. If you believe you’re facing a coordinated rating attack, collect evidence such as a sudden spike of one-star ratings with similar wording, and contact the store’s developer support. Our guide on review bombing covers how to respond when that happens.

A worked example: a habit-tracking app

This is an illustrative scenario, not a real client. A small team runs a habit-tracking app with a middling rating. Recent reviews repeat two complaints: reminders stopped working after an operating system update, and the subscription screen is confusing.

1. The team tags the last few months of reviews by theme and confirms the two issues are the most common.
2. They ship a fix for reminders and a clearer subscription screen that states the price and renewal terms up front.
3. They reply to recent reviews about reminders, naming the version with the fix, and reply to billing complaints with instructions on managing subscriptions and a link to support.
4. They move the rating prompt from the first launch to the moment a user completes a seven-day streak, using each platform’s official API.
5. On iOS, they consider whether to reset the summary rating with the new version and decide against it, because the app still has many recent positive ratings they don’t want to lose.

Over the following months, new reviews mention the fixes, and several users who left one-star reviews about reminders update them. The rating improves gradually because the app improved and the prompt reaches users at a better moment, not because anything was hidden.

Common mistakes with app store reviews

• Prompting on first launch. Users haven’t formed an opinion yet, and the prompt feels pushy.
• Custom “rate us” pop-ups that screen for happy users. That’s review gating and can breach store rules.
• Ignoring replies. Unanswered bug reports suggest nobody is maintaining the app.
• Canned replies. The same paragraph under every review reads as indifference.
• Reset as a fix. Resetting your iOS summary rating hides the old score but not the reviews or the problems behind them.
• Ignoring reviews outside the stores. People also judge apps by reviews on sites such as G2 or Capterra for business software, and by Reddit threads and social posts.

For software companies whose reputation spans the app stores, review sites and search results, our SaaS reputation management page covers the wider picture, our guide to G2 reviews covers business software review sites, and our review management service can help set up request and reply routines.

Frequently asked questions

Can developers delete app store reviews?

No. Developers can’t delete reviews on the App Store or Google Play. You can reply publicly, and you can report reviews that break the store’s policies for the store to assess. Honest negative reviews generally stay, so fixing the underlying problem and replying is usually the best response.

Can I reset my app's rating?

On Apple’s App Store, developers can choose to reset the summary rating when they release a new version, though written reviews remain visible. Google Play doesn’t offer the same reset, and Google has said its displayed rating gives more weight to recent ratings. Check each store’s current documentation before relying on either.

Is it allowed to ask users to rate my app?

Yes, as long as you use each store’s official in-app review prompt, don’t reward users for rating, and don’t filter out unhappy users before showing the prompt. Ask at a moment when the user has just had a good experience.

Do app store reviews affect search ranking in the store?

Both stores consider ratings and reviews among many factors when ranking and featuring apps, but neither publishes an exact formula. A better rating also tends to improve conversion from store listing to download, which is often the bigger effect.