It's a good step, but at this point, the iOS app market is in decline (especially for many indie developers) due to market saturation and the hugely decreasing number of brand new iOS users. Apple is throwing devs a bone, but it's almost too little, too late.
Quite alot of reviews for sticker apps are "this app says installed but it doesnt show up anywhere on my phone". There was a nice post about it on twitter but pretty much developers can now reply to this and not get a ton of 1 stars and refunds.
It's possible that once you start replying to reviews it will become never ending. Your customers might come to expect replies and use it for questions etc. They will expect instant answers Also what to do about the Troll reviews? I have one guy that has left the same one star review for at least the last 20 updates. I'll have to be very careful with my replies to such as him. Minefield
This feature seems to be live now! It's great to FINALLY be able to respond to users leaving reviews. They take a little while to show up (up to 24 hrs) and can only be seen on devices running iOS 10.3 or higher.
Responses and edits will show as pending until they display on the App Store. This can take up to 24 hours. All edited responses will have a notation that it has been edited. Responses will only be visible on the App Store for iPhone and iPad on devices running iOS 10.3 or later and OS X 10.6.6 for App Store for Mac.
1. In iTunes Connect, click My Apps on the homepage and then select your app.
2. In the toolbar, click Activity.
3. Under the platform in the left column, click Ratings and Reviews. For tvOS, click Ratings.
The ratings and reviews appear on the right.
1. In iTunes Connect, click My Apps on the homepage and then select your app.
2. In the toolbar, click Activity.
3. Under the platform in the left column, click Ratings and Reviews. For tvOS, click Ratings.
The ratings and reviews appear on the right.
I'm really wondering what impact this will have. I personally don't think this is going to convince anyone to pull their review (do they have get a notification when we respond to them?). I'm hoping it will discourage people from posting bad reviews though.
I'm really wondering what impact this will have. I personally don't think this is going to convince anyone to pull their review (do they have get a notification when we respond to them?). I'm hoping it will discourage people from posting bad reviews though.
I've been replying to reviews on Android for years now and really like it. I don't reply thinking to change anyone's opinion. If I do, it's an added bonus, but I don't expect it. I try to help the user, but many don't ever see the reply or ignore it if they do because they're trolls. So my main goal is to let other users know if someone makes a statement that isn't true, if there's an issue that will be fixed in the next update, etc. Of course I direct my reply at the user and am polite, but my response is stated in such a way that it can apply to any user. It's awesome to be able to correct something false instead of just letting it stand there forever like it's seemingly true.
I'm really wondering what impact this will have. I personally don't think this is going to convince anyone to pull their review (do they have get a notification when we respond to them?). I'm hoping it will discourage people from posting bad reviews though.
Yes, users get an email to notify them that the developer replied to their review. Here is what it looks like:
@bw748 Along with helping people who have legit questions, I hope I can a) convince people to either take down their negative reviews or b) discourage other people from posting them by putting a face to the app.
In particular I hope some of these kids parents will get these e-mails and maybe considering deleting the app, or maybe it will prevent the kid from teeing off on someone elses app in the future.
@tmongy Cool thanks. Yeah I think someone already deleted a review. It's great to see that people will be notified by these responses if they do check the e-mail they use on their Apple accounts.
The replies do not appear on desktop iTunes. Do they appear on the device? It looks like the original reviewer is the only person that sees your reply.
The replies do not appear on desktop iTunes. Do they appear on the device? It looks like the original reviewer is the only person that sees your reply.
They appear on the device for everyone to see, but it has to be running iOS 10.3 or above.
The replies do not appear on desktop iTunes. Do they appear on the device? It looks like the original reviewer is the only person that sees your reply.
They appear on the device for everyone to see, but it has to be running iOS 10.3 or above.
Are there rules what kind of responds are not allowed? I'm afraid that if I write that a problem is caused by iOS 11 that I can get troubles.
1) The customer doesn't care what caused the problem -- their only concern is that the app is not working, and 2) The app should be updated so the problem is fixed in iOS 11.
Replies
Yeah, same place you check the reviews:
Thank you I'll take a look.
Only one response per review, but the response can be edited if the user updates their review.
Whatever you do, be professional and courteous
I've been replying to reviews on Android for years now and really like it. I don't reply thinking to change anyone's opinion. If I do, it's an added bonus, but I don't expect it. I try to help the user, but many don't ever see the reply or ignore it if they do because they're trolls. So my main goal is to let other users know if someone makes a statement that isn't true, if there's an issue that will be fixed in the next update, etc. Of course I direct my reply at the user and am polite, but my response is stated in such a way that it can apply to any user. It's awesome to be able to correct something false instead of just letting it stand there forever like it's seemingly true.
Yes, users get an email to notify them that the developer replied to their review. Here is what it looks like:
In particular I hope some of these kids parents will get these e-mails and maybe considering deleting the app, or maybe it will prevent the kid from teeing off on someone elses app in the future.
@tmongy Cool thanks. Yeah I think someone already deleted a review. It's great to see that people will be notified by these responses if they do check the e-mail they use on their Apple accounts.
They appear on the device for everyone to see, but it has to be running iOS 10.3 or above.
Thanks for the info.
1) The customer doesn't care what caused the problem -- their only concern is that the app is not working, and 2) The app should be updated so the problem is fixed in iOS 11.