- Ask for a rating right after someone succeeds at something in your app, never at first launch, during onboarding or in the middle of a task.
- Use the system prompts: Apple disallows custom review prompts, and both stores limit how often their prompt appears.
- Do not ask "Do you like the app?" first and send only happy users to the store; Google forbids questions before the prompt and Apple treats filtered feedback as manipulation.
- Never reward ratings or reviews with discounts, credits or features.
- Reply to low ratings and bug reports promptly; reviewers are notified and can update their review.
When should an app ask for a rating?
Ask right after someone has succeeded at something in your app, such as finishing an order, a workout or a report, and only once they have used it enough to have an opinion. Use the built-in App Store and Google Play prompts, never at first launch, never during a task, and never with a reward attached. The stores limit how often their prompts appear, so a well-timed request is worth more than a frequent one.
Ratings shape whether people download your app at all, so the timing is a product decision, not an afterthought. It is one of the details our mobile app development team plans with clients before launch.
What do Apple and Google allow?
| App Store (iOS) | Google Play (Android) | |
|---|---|---|
| Prompt | System rating prompt via StoreKit; Apple disallows custom review prompts | In-app review card from the Play Core library, shown without changes to its design |
| How often it shows | At most three times in 365 days for someone who has not rated the app on that device | A time-bound quota; asking more than once in a short period, such as less than a month, may show nothing |
| Tied to a button? | No, because the prompt may not appear | No; send button taps to the Play Store page instead |
| Who decides | The system, which can skip the prompt | The Play Store, which can change the quota without notice |
People can also turn off rating requests for all apps on their iPhone, so some users will never see the prompt whatever you do.
How do you pick the right moment?
Apple's Human Interface Guidelines say to ask only after people have shown engagement, and to avoid first launch and onboarding, when people may even leave negative feedback because they have not yet seen the app's value. They also recommend leaving at least a week or two between requests. Google's guidance is similar: ask once the user has experienced enough of the app to give useful feedback, and do not prompt excessively.
Good moments share three features: the user just succeeded, nothing urgent is waiting, and they have done it before. Examples:
- A delivery app, after a completed order that arrived on time, from the order summary screen.
- A fitness app, after a finished workout, once the person has logged several.
- A business app, after an exported report or a sent invoice, for a user who has been active for a while.
Apple's sample code delays the request until a person has completed the same task at least four times, and not more than once per app version. It notes the number is arbitrary, so pick one that fits how often your users complete the task. Avoid moments after an error, a failed payment or a support chat.
Can you ask "Do you like the app?" first?
No, and this is where many apps get it wrong. The common pattern asks users whether they are happy, sends the happy ones to the store and the unhappy ones to a feedback form. Google says your app shouldn't ask any questions before or while showing the review card, including "Do you like the app?". Apple warns that manipulating reviews with filtered feedback can lead to removal from the developer program, and it does not allow custom review prompts.
The better approach is to keep the two things separate. Offer a "Send feedback" or "Contact support" option that is always available in the app, and let the system rating prompt appear on its own at a good moment. Unhappy users then have an easy way to reach you, without the app filtering who gets asked for a rating.
The same thinking applies to other permission prompts; our guide to asking for push notification permission explains why timing and context decide the answer.
Where should a permanent "Rate the app" link go?
Put it in Settings or the About screen, where people look for it. On iOS, Apple suggests a link to your App Store page with action=write-review added, which opens the review form directly. On Android, Google says a button should take the user to the Play Store page, because the in-app card may not appear once the user has reached the quota.
Never make ratings a condition for anything. Apple's guidelines say apps must not force users to rate or review the app to access features or content, and Google bans forced pop-ups and rewards for ratings.
How should you reply to reviews?
- Prioritise low ratings and bug reports. Apple suggests starting with the lowest star ratings and reviews that mention technical issues in the current version.
- Answer the actual complaint. Apple asks that replies contain no personal information, spam or marketing, and Google asks you not to request a higher rating.
- Point to help. Google recommends including a support address or FAQ page.
- Follow up after fixes. On both stores the reviewer is notified of your reply and can update their review. Google Play publishes one reply per review, which you can edit, and holds new reviews for around 24 hours while it checks for suspicious activity.
In App Store Connect, only users with the Admin or Customer Support role can respond to reviews, so decide before launch who owns this. If one release triggers a wave of bad reviews, a remotely controlled switch lets you turn the change off without waiting for a new build; our guide to feature flags explains the approach. Store listings, screenshots and review settings are all part of our App Store and Google Play publishing checklist, and the design of the moments around the prompt is work for our UI and UX design team.
Frequently asked questions
Can we give users a reward for leaving a review?
No. Google Play prohibits incentivised ratings and reviews, and its policy shows a discount offered for a high rating as a violation. Apple says it may remove developers who use paid, incentivised, filtered or fake feedback. Rewards also attract ratings from people who never used the app properly, which helps nobody.
Should we reset our App Store rating after a big update?
Only if the update fixes the problems most low ratings were about. Apple lets you reset the summary rating when you release a new version, but warns that having few ratings can discourage downloads. Written reviews stay on the product page either way, so a reset will not hide old complaints.
Why did the review prompt not appear when we tested it?
On iOS the prompt always appears in development builds but never in TestFlight builds, so test on a development build. On Android the store applies a quota and may silently skip the prompt. In both cases the system decides, which is why the request must never be tied to a button.
Does replying to a bad review really help?
Often, yes. On both stores the reviewer is told about your reply and can change their review. Play Console even shows rating changes separately for reviews with and without a reply. Keep replies short, specific and honest, and never ask for a better rating in the reply itself.
What should we do about fake or abusive reviews?
Do not argue with them in public. In App Store Connect, use Report a Concern under the review; the reviewer is not told. In Play Console, report the review instead of replying. Both stores also run their own checks for suspicious activity, and Google Play holds new reviews back briefly before publishing them.
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