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iOS and MacOS Developers Can Now Respond to Reviews

440 points by keehun 10y ago

archildress 10y ago
Well, it's a start? I know I'm not the first to stay it, but I'm still so shocked how limited the Mac App Store is. No trial versions, no in-app purchases, no subscriptions, etc. This has led to companies like Bohemian (makers of Sketch) [1] leaving the Mac App Store. I'm not being facetious when I ask people more knowledgeable than me: why does Apple put so little effort into the store? Is it just too small to warrant their attention? It just seems to me like they don't even try. http://bohemiancoding.tumblr.com/post/134322691555/leaving-the-mac-app-store http://bohemiancoding.tumblr.com/post/134322691555/leaving-t...
- flukus 10y ago
  Limited from a developer perspective but fantastic from a consumer one (except maybe the trial version stuff).
  - Aldo_MX 10y ago
    Not so fantastic, because it resets the ratings every update, which translates in developers constantly begging for stars...
    - keehun 10y ago
      I do agree resetting the ratings at every update is a big hassle. I wonder why Apple doesn't have the reviewer determine whether or not the rating should be reset. Perhaps that would introduce too much power to the reviewer(s?).
    - flukus 10y ago
      Every update may be a bit excessive, but it's better than never. A review is made at a point in time and a product can get better or worse over time. If I ever get begged for stars though the app gets one star.
  - archildress 10y ago
    Do you think it's a fantastic experience because it's simple? I know that most people that post on HN are early adopters and trend toward power users, but they also use a lot more apps in total than my casual computer-using friends.
    - flukus 10y ago
      > Do you think it's a fantastic experience because it's simple? I thinks it's fantastic because the don't allow nickle and dimeing customers.
  - deleted 10y ago
    [deleted]
- doomlaser 10y ago
  Don't forget that Apple's draconian sandboxing limitations restrict entire categories of desktop applications from being sold on the Mac App Store. When you've got an application like Coda from Panic that can't even manage to exist on the Store, that should be a sign that the thing needs to change.
- blazespin 10y ago
  What I find pretty awful is all of the apps I bought aren't being upgraded even though they were really great when I bought them. I'd even pay money to upgrade them. So sad to see all that wasted effort.
  - mal1sh 10y ago
    Maybe you can try Setapp.com - service released today. They provide access to more than 60+ apps without paid upgrades and in-app purchased.
- kcase 10y ago
  The Mac App Store already supports both in-app purchases and subscriptions, and we currently leverage that to offer free trials of two of our apps (OmniGraffle and OmniPlan) and will soon extend that to the rest of our product line (OmniFocus and OmniOutliner). I shared more details about this on our blog a few months ago: https://www.omnigroup.com/blog/providing-the-best-possible-app-store-experience https://www.omnigroup.com/blog/providing-the-best-possible-a...
  - nodamage 10y ago
    I thought time-limited trials were not permitted in the Mac App Store? How did this get through the review process?
    - kcase 10y ago
      The app itself cannot expire, but functionality unlocked within the app can expire so long as the app remains useful--or the app is based on subscriptions, in which case you can make the expired app do nothing at all. In the case of OmniGraffle 7 the free functionality that it retains after the trial expires is that the app can continue to be used as a free viewer for OmniGraffle documents (in much the same way as people use free PDF viewer apps). When we first shipped OmniGraffle 7, some people thought that perhaps we'd just managed to slip its free trials past some Apple's reviewer's radar. But we were very careful and intentional about designing the app to follow their guidelines, and we've shipped several updates that have passed review since then--and at the end of the year Apple awarded the app a "Best of 2016" App Store award. So now that we know for certain that Apple is OK with this approach, we're in the process of bringing this model to the rest of our apps on both Mac and iOS.
      - nodamage 10y ago
        Ah, that's very interesting. I did not realize that reverting the expired trial version to "view-only" mode was considered within the guidelines. Thanks for the clarification, I may have to consider this model for my own apps. I assume Apple did not have a problem with your use of the "Free Trial" wording in the app? After the trial period expires, does the app display a launch screen directing you to purchase the full version?
rackforms 10y ago
That's great news, and can only lead to, if nothing else, better informed users and a more engaged developer.
- nicky0 10y ago
  I'm not sure it is great news. I can see it leading to some users expecting to use the reviews as a kind of alternative tech support/feature request forum, with star ratings held in hostage for responses.
matheweis 10y ago
Wow, this is great news! It's doesn't address all of the systemic issues with the App Store, but it does show they at least are paying a little bit of attention... here's hope that they're working on fixing more!
Rumudiez 10y ago
Does anybody know what precautions or safeguards will be put in place to prevent fraudulent self-ratings? For instance, a malicious app could falsify the user data before submitting it using the new API, dark patterns in the feedback form (1 star could be the highest rating), or just omit sending in poor reviews altogether.
- dawnerd 10y ago
  I'd like to think Apple would catch those apps very quickly.
- arjie 10y ago
  Don't they have a review process? Surely they'd just check all the places you use the new API.
  - mhmiles 10y ago
    Yeah I’m pretty sure you’d have to use private APIs to be able to fake reviews using the new controller. They’d probably ban your developer account if you tried this. Don’t think it would be worth it.
    - mikeash 10y ago
      They have the ability to run views entirely out of process. I can't guarantee they're doing it here, but I don't think it would be hard for them to make it completely immune even to private API abuse.
      - tinus_hn 10y ago
        It'd be quite logical to do that here, if only to avoid exposing the users account credentials to the application.
- matheweis 10y ago
  See the Dash fiasco for how complex the issue is and how it is getting some attention at the highest levels of Apple. We could debate all day (see the other threads) about that particular case, but the bottom line is they're at least aware of potential abuses and working on them.
Ensorceled 10y ago
What I was really hoping for is a solution to the problem of every app begging me for a review after upgrading. I get a "please review" popup pretty much every day. When I got back from Christmas vacation and synced a bunch of apps, my iPhone was painful to use for about three days and every app begged for my help. I actually review apps I use and like, I just wish I didn't have to do it every update to help keep the developer eating.
- tgsovlerkhgsel 10y ago
  I review every app that annoys me with a review popup, and voice my opinion about my most recent memory of the app (the annoying popup, 1 star). Seems like enough people have started doing it that app developers no longger do this that much, at least on Android. There was even an article how to properly beg for reviews. Boils down to: * Do it after you have delighted the user, not during startup. * Do it respectfully without annoying the user (e.g. with an additional entry in a long scrolling list, not a modal dialog). * Ask the user whether they're happy. If they say no, ask if they want to provide feedback (which you then read and act upon), if they say yes, you ask them if they're willing to leave a review. If they don't want to provide feedback/a review, you leave them alone.
  - mikeash 10y ago
    I really dislike that last technique in your list. Attempting to select only the people who like the app is an obvious thing to do as a developer, but as a user it seriously hurts the usefulness of reviews.
    - st3v3r 10y ago
      I agree it can be kinda icky, but at the same time, there's no real good way to get people who like the app to leave a good review. And the way things are in the stores, you have to have those good reviews.
      - Rex206 10y ago
cpncrunch 10y ago
Title is incorrect. It isn't going to be available until iOS 10.3 ships.
- hellofunk 10y ago
  10.3 is on current new devices, so it takes affect now for all new iPhones and iPads. Later, it will also affect existing ones.
  - neiled 10y ago
    10.3 is in beta and the first beta was released to developers yesterday. That link is to pre-release documentation.
    - cpncrunch 10y ago
      Also, itunes connect still isn't allowing us to respond to reviews (which is the whole point of this post...)
    - hellofunk 10y ago
      According to the article, if you purchase a brand-new iOS device, it is running 10.3. That is different than existing devices cannot get upgraded yet to it. Or is the article unclear?
      - huxley 10y ago
        No, you've misunderstood the phrasing, it says "which runs on currently shipping iOS devices", in other words, it is compatible with.
ioquatix 10y ago
It's about bloody time.
karmelapple 10y ago
Any word on whether replies will be limited to one, or if you could have very long threads of messages going back and forth between a user and the developer? Also, curious if developers will be able to respond to old reviews written before this was the policy. I'm thinking so. Been hoping for this ever since the App Store was released, especially after being able to do it on the Google Play store for some time.
tptacek 10y ago
There's a business here for a consulting firm that triages first-tier responses to these comments. This is already, for instance, how bug bounties work (as I understand it, triage services are a big part of the revenue model for the bounty sites).
jordansmithnz 10y ago
As an indie developer that has a lot invested in the App Store - this is really, really, great. It doesn't matter how much effort you put into making an app that is polished, well thought out, and one of the best out there - there will always be reviews like 'App gets stuck downloading' or 'App doesn't support x' (when x is clearly stated as being a paid addition). The ability to respond to reviews should more clearly separate 'quality' apps for anyone that takes reviews and ratings into consideration before downloading.
- Humdeee 10y ago
  I hear you. I've had those experiences. I put in minimal usage analytics on my backend, and the users that are the harshest with reviews are my biggest users. It's all worthwhile when you get the occasional email from someone that your app has helped them immensely with a task. I make utility apps for some side income and one of the strangest reviews I received was a 1 star -- "cannot beat level 6. Paywall. Deleted." The moron somehow reviewed the wrong app, from some game. Apple however is pretty good at responding to review removal requests.
- epx 10y ago
  Happens with me all the time
chrisper 10y ago
What does "currently shipping iOS devices" refer to? People who buy an iPhone on the web store today will have iOS 10.3? I just checked on my iPhone and the latest is 10.2.1.
- dangoor 10y ago
  That means it's compatible with all currently shipping iOS devices. iOS 10.3 just entered beta, though, so it'll be a few weeks before it's the shipping, released version.
dcw303 10y ago
It's a start but it doesn't fix the underlying problem. It's not specific to the App Store, but a major problem with Internet based communities in general is that a small vocal group of discontents has a disproportionately loud voice. 5 one star reviews out of 100,000 known installs is very different to 5 out of 10. I wish that the app review had stats for 1/2/3/4/5 star ratings as percentages of the known user base.
- TylerE 10y ago
  Please no. Then apps will only review nag even harder.
lnbharath 10y ago
Would there be a second factor authentication? I'm sure developers would find ways to abuse this
anon363764 10y ago
So now reviews will tend to self-censor and be glowing, happy-clappy rubbish. Maybe Apple apps need an app dev <-> user support mechanisms for private feedback, FAQ and bug tracker to funnel bitching productively.
- qzervaas 10y ago
  No, it'll still be self-selecting: Good developers who actively respond to reviews will improve their apps. Somebody who left a low review due to a misunderstanding now has a chance to increase their review because of a diligent developer. A developer who doesn't care and/or doesn't monitor their reviews will not turn that user around.
- arprocter 10y ago
  I'd imagine it'd be similar to Yelp when a business leaves canned 'sorry' responses to all their bad reviews. Are users able to remove bad ratings once they are left? Bribery potential...
epaga 10y ago
As a small indie dev (dealing with hundreds or thousands, not hundreds of thousands of customers), the best way I've found to encourage reviews is to prominently display my email address for any questions or ideas. Then, when customers write (many of them do), I write back a nice response and then add: P.S. If you enjoy Mindscope, would you take a minute to write a short review? It would mean a lot and helps give Mindscope visibility on the App Store.
- metafunctor 10y ago
  Some people here would probably call that a "dark pattern" (I of course don't). Because, you know, it's soliciting for positive reviews from a preselected set of users.
  - leviathan 10y ago
    As far as I've seen, happy user have little incentive to go and leave a good review. But the users who have had some annoyances with the app are definitely going to take it to the reviews. This leaves you with negatively biased reviews a lot of the time.
  - bookmarkacc 10y ago
    Not a dark pattern at all. There are no interface tricks
    - NTripleOne 10y ago
      Yeah - however, the whole "do you like our app? yes/no" thing, where yes takes you to the store for review and no takes you to a feedback form (that probably doesn't even post)? Definitely a dark pattern.
      - solarexplorer 10y ago
        The advantage of a feedback form is that the developer can come back to you with suggestions, ask you for details to reproduce a bug, etc. If you just go to the App Store and leave a (negative) review, there is no way for the developer to contact you. Hence the dialog/feedback form pattern. Allowing developers to respond to reviews on the App Store will help with this problem.
toodlebunions 10y ago
When was the last time you browsed the App Store or read reviews?
philliphaydon 10y ago
Now if only I could write reviews... but there's a Long outstanding bug where if you download an app in (in my case Australia) move to singapore, change your store to singapore, redownload the app. The store assumes you don't own the app cos it originated in Australia but your account is now singapore with the singapore downloaded app. And you cannot write a review cos the store is confused. But if the app is downloaded in singapore for the first time you can write a review. Invest the store location again and the inverse happens....
- planetjones 10y ago
  I have the same issue. And it's even worse. I need two accounts - one for the UK and one for Switzerland. And I have to log out and log in of the app store depending on whether I want a UK app or a Swiss app. For a multi-national company, Apple's support for those living across borders is terrible.
- nodamage 10y ago
  What's worse is your purchases don't come with you when you switch stores. This has caused us a lot of problems.
- arprocter 10y ago
  I had something similar happen on PSN. IIRC it wouldn't let me add Plus to a UK account using a US card. I ended up just creating a new account, but it was surprising how difficult they made it to give them money.
localhost3000 10y ago
I'm glad to see Apple beginning to throw developers a bone but this change is about 5 years too late.
yoz-y 10y ago
I really hope that it would be finally possible to use touch id to identify myself when leaving reviews. I do not understand why reviewing seems to be the most sensitive thing I can do on an iPhone, as it is the only feature that always requires the whole password.
- wvenable 10y ago
  To slow down review farms?
  - djrogers 10y ago
    Likely this has a lot to do with it...
  - yoz-y 10y ago
    Dubious, you only have to enter your password once and then you can write reviews for 15 minutes or so (I did not check). This only bothers people who leave one review every now and then.
codecamper 10y ago
10 years & wow we can reply to reviews. I guess 4 billion in app store profits can pay for a feature now & then. Now how about tackling fake reviews?
- draugadrotten 10y ago
  > Now how about tackling fake reviews? From apples point of view, why? If an app gets fake positive reviews, it will sell more, and give Apple higher income. If an app gets fake negative reviews, the developer will just bump the version, the reviews will be forgotten, and there will be no negative effect to Apple. Like the old SNL sketch, Apple doesn't care. They don't have to. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHgUN_95UAw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHgUN_95UAw
  - nicky0 10y ago
    Fake reviews devalue all reviews, and this makes them less trustworthy and therefore less useful. And when customers can no longer make informed decisions, they buy fewer apps.
jmcdiesel 10y ago
Developers always want this - but responding to reviews hardly every works out in your favor... its either a shallow "thanks" kind of message or a shallow "sorry" kind of message... and it almost always comes off as disingenuous
- nicky0 10y ago
  My thoughts exactly. This may or may not improve things.
DavideNL 10y ago
So uhh... can users respond to developers responding to user reviews? ;-)
- djrogers 10y ago
  Both users and dev can edit their reviews/responses. Seems reasonable, as starting a multi-layer thread in reviews would ultimately defeat the purpose...
  - DavideNL 10y ago
    i guess it's reasonable indeed. Although users being able to edit their initial comment can become messy...

440 points by keehun 10y ago

Well, it's a start? I know I'm not the first to stay it, but I'm still so shocked how limited the Mac App Store is. No trial versions, no in-app purchases, no subscriptions, etc. This has led to companies like Bohemian (makers of Sketch) [1] leaving the Mac App Store. I'm not being facetious when I ask people more knowledgeable than me: why does Apple put so little effort into the store? Is it just too small to warrant their attention? It just seems to me like they don't even try. http://bohemiancoding.tumblr.com/post/134322691555/leaving-the-mac-app-store http://bohemiancoding.tumblr.com/post/134322691555/leaving-t...

flukus 10y ago
Limited from a developer perspective but fantastic from a consumer one (except maybe the trial version stuff).
- Aldo_MX 10y ago
  Not so fantastic, because it resets the ratings every update, which translates in developers constantly begging for stars...
  - keehun 10y ago
    I do agree resetting the ratings at every update is a big hassle. I wonder why Apple doesn't have the reviewer determine whether or not the rating should be reset. Perhaps that would introduce too much power to the reviewer(s?).
  - flukus 10y ago
    Every update may be a bit excessive, but it's better than never. A review is made at a point in time and a product can get better or worse over time. If I ever get begged for stars though the app gets one star.
- archildress 10y ago
  Do you think it's a fantastic experience because it's simple? I know that most people that post on HN are early adopters and trend toward power users, but they also use a lot more apps in total than my casual computer-using friends.
  - flukus 10y ago
    > Do you think it's a fantastic experience because it's simple? I thinks it's fantastic because the don't allow nickle and dimeing customers.
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
doomlaser 10y ago
Don't forget that Apple's draconian sandboxing limitations restrict entire categories of desktop applications from being sold on the Mac App Store. When you've got an application like Coda from Panic that can't even manage to exist on the Store, that should be a sign that the thing needs to change.
blazespin 10y ago
What I find pretty awful is all of the apps I bought aren't being upgraded even though they were really great when I bought them. I'd even pay money to upgrade them. So sad to see all that wasted effort.
- mal1sh 10y ago
  Maybe you can try Setapp.com - service released today. They provide access to more than 60+ apps without paid upgrades and in-app purchased.
kcase 10y ago
The Mac App Store already supports both in-app purchases and subscriptions, and we currently leverage that to offer free trials of two of our apps (OmniGraffle and OmniPlan) and will soon extend that to the rest of our product line (OmniFocus and OmniOutliner). I shared more details about this on our blog a few months ago: https://www.omnigroup.com/blog/providing-the-best-possible-app-store-experience https://www.omnigroup.com/blog/providing-the-best-possible-a...
- nodamage 10y ago
  I thought time-limited trials were not permitted in the Mac App Store? How did this get through the review process?
  - kcase 10y ago
    The app itself cannot expire, but functionality unlocked within the app can expire so long as the app remains useful--or the app is based on subscriptions, in which case you can make the expired app do nothing at all. In the case of OmniGraffle 7 the free functionality that it retains after the trial expires is that the app can continue to be used as a free viewer for OmniGraffle documents (in much the same way as people use free PDF viewer apps). When we first shipped OmniGraffle 7, some people thought that perhaps we'd just managed to slip its free trials past some Apple's reviewer's radar. But we were very careful and intentional about designing the app to follow their guidelines, and we've shipped several updates that have passed review since then--and at the end of the year Apple awarded the app a "Best of 2016" App Store award. So now that we know for certain that Apple is OK with this approach, we're in the process of bringing this model to the rest of our apps on both Mac and iOS.
    - nodamage 10y ago
      Ah, that's very interesting. I did not realize that reverting the expired trial version to "view-only" mode was considered within the guidelines. Thanks for the clarification, I may have to consider this model for my own apps. I assume Apple did not have a problem with your use of the "Free Trial" wording in the app? After the trial period expires, does the app display a launch screen directing you to purchase the full version?

rackforms 10y ago

That's great news, and can only lead to, if nothing else, better informed users and a more engaged developer.

nicky0 10y ago
I'm not sure it is great news. I can see it leading to some users expecting to use the reviews as a kind of alternative tech support/feature request forum, with star ratings held in hostage for responses.

matheweis 10y ago

Wow, this is great news! It's doesn't address all of the systemic issues with the App Store, but it does show they at least are paying a little bit of attention... here's hope that they're working on fixing more!

Rumudiez 10y ago

Does anybody know what precautions or safeguards will be put in place to prevent fraudulent self-ratings? For instance, a malicious app could falsify the user data before submitting it using the new API, dark patterns in the feedback form (1 star could be the highest rating), or just omit sending in poor reviews altogether.

dawnerd 10y ago
I'd like to think Apple would catch those apps very quickly.
arjie 10y ago
Don't they have a review process? Surely they'd just check all the places you use the new API.
- mhmiles 10y ago
  Yeah I’m pretty sure you’d have to use private APIs to be able to fake reviews using the new controller. They’d probably ban your developer account if you tried this. Don’t think it would be worth it.
  - mikeash 10y ago
    They have the ability to run views entirely out of process. I can't guarantee they're doing it here, but I don't think it would be hard for them to make it completely immune even to private API abuse.
    - tinus_hn 10y ago
      It'd be quite logical to do that here, if only to avoid exposing the users account credentials to the application.
matheweis 10y ago
See the Dash fiasco for how complex the issue is and how it is getting some attention at the highest levels of Apple. We could debate all day (see the other threads) about that particular case, but the bottom line is they're at least aware of potential abuses and working on them.

Ensorceled 10y ago

What I was really hoping for is a solution to the problem of every app begging me for a review after upgrading. I get a "please review" popup pretty much every day. When I got back from Christmas vacation and synced a bunch of apps, my iPhone was painful to use for about three days and every app begged for my help. I actually review apps I use and like, I just wish I didn't have to do it every update to help keep the developer eating.

tgsovlerkhgsel 10y ago
I review every app that annoys me with a review popup, and voice my opinion about my most recent memory of the app (the annoying popup, 1 star). Seems like enough people have started doing it that app developers no longger do this that much, at least on Android. There was even an article how to properly beg for reviews. Boils down to: * Do it after you have delighted the user, not during startup. * Do it respectfully without annoying the user (e.g. with an additional entry in a long scrolling list, not a modal dialog). * Ask the user whether they're happy. If they say no, ask if they want to provide feedback (which you then read and act upon), if they say yes, you ask them if they're willing to leave a review. If they don't want to provide feedback/a review, you leave them alone.
- mikeash 10y ago
  I really dislike that last technique in your list. Attempting to select only the people who like the app is an obvious thing to do as a developer, but as a user it seriously hurts the usefulness of reviews.
  - st3v3r 10y ago
    I agree it can be kinda icky, but at the same time, there's no real good way to get people who like the app to leave a good review. And the way things are in the stores, you have to have those good reviews.
    - Rex206 10y ago

cpncrunch 10y ago

Title is incorrect. It isn't going to be available until iOS 10.3 ships.

hellofunk 10y ago
10.3 is on current new devices, so it takes affect now for all new iPhones and iPads. Later, it will also affect existing ones.
- neiled 10y ago
  10.3 is in beta and the first beta was released to developers yesterday. That link is to pre-release documentation.
  - cpncrunch 10y ago
    Also, itunes connect still isn't allowing us to respond to reviews (which is the whole point of this post...)
  - hellofunk 10y ago
    According to the article, if you purchase a brand-new iOS device, it is running 10.3. That is different than existing devices cannot get upgraded yet to it. Or is the article unclear?
    - huxley 10y ago
      No, you've misunderstood the phrasing, it says "which runs on currently shipping iOS devices", in other words, it is compatible with.

ioquatix 10y ago

It's about bloody time.

karmelapple 10y ago

Any word on whether replies will be limited to one, or if you could have very long threads of messages going back and forth between a user and the developer? Also, curious if developers will be able to respond to old reviews written before this was the policy. I'm thinking so. Been hoping for this ever since the App Store was released, especially after being able to do it on the Google Play store for some time.

tptacek 10y ago

There's a business here for a consulting firm that triages first-tier responses to these comments. This is already, for instance, how bug bounties work (as I understand it, triage services are a big part of the revenue model for the bounty sites).

jordansmithnz 10y ago

As an indie developer that has a lot invested in the App Store - this is really, really, great. It doesn't matter how much effort you put into making an app that is polished, well thought out, and one of the best out there - there will always be reviews like 'App gets stuck downloading' or 'App doesn't support x' (when x is clearly stated as being a paid addition). The ability to respond to reviews should more clearly separate 'quality' apps for anyone that takes reviews and ratings into consideration before downloading.

Humdeee 10y ago
I hear you. I've had those experiences. I put in minimal usage analytics on my backend, and the users that are the harshest with reviews are my biggest users. It's all worthwhile when you get the occasional email from someone that your app has helped them immensely with a task. I make utility apps for some side income and one of the strangest reviews I received was a 1 star -- "cannot beat level 6. Paywall. Deleted." The moron somehow reviewed the wrong app, from some game. Apple however is pretty good at responding to review removal requests.
epx 10y ago
Happens with me all the time

chrisper 10y ago

What does "currently shipping iOS devices" refer to? People who buy an iPhone on the web store today will have iOS 10.3? I just checked on my iPhone and the latest is 10.2.1.

dangoor 10y ago
That means it's compatible with all currently shipping iOS devices. iOS 10.3 just entered beta, though, so it'll be a few weeks before it's the shipping, released version.

dcw303 10y ago

It's a start but it doesn't fix the underlying problem. It's not specific to the App Store, but a major problem with Internet based communities in general is that a small vocal group of discontents has a disproportionately loud voice. 5 one star reviews out of 100,000 known installs is very different to 5 out of 10. I wish that the app review had stats for 1/2/3/4/5 star ratings as percentages of the known user base.

TylerE 10y ago
Please no. Then apps will only review nag even harder.

lnbharath 10y ago

Would there be a second factor authentication? I'm sure developers would find ways to abuse this

anon363764 10y ago

So now reviews will tend to self-censor and be glowing, happy-clappy rubbish. Maybe Apple apps need an app dev <-> user support mechanisms for private feedback, FAQ and bug tracker to funnel bitching productively.

qzervaas 10y ago
No, it'll still be self-selecting: Good developers who actively respond to reviews will improve their apps. Somebody who left a low review due to a misunderstanding now has a chance to increase their review because of a diligent developer. A developer who doesn't care and/or doesn't monitor their reviews will not turn that user around.
arprocter 10y ago
I'd imagine it'd be similar to Yelp when a business leaves canned 'sorry' responses to all their bad reviews. Are users able to remove bad ratings once they are left? Bribery potential...

epaga 10y ago

As a small indie dev (dealing with hundreds or thousands, not hundreds of thousands of customers), the best way I've found to encourage reviews is to prominently display my email address for any questions or ideas. Then, when customers write (many of them do), I write back a nice response and then add: P.S. If you enjoy Mindscope, would you take a minute to write a short review? It would mean a lot and helps give Mindscope visibility on the App Store.

metafunctor 10y ago
Some people here would probably call that a "dark pattern" (I of course don't). Because, you know, it's soliciting for positive reviews from a preselected set of users.
- leviathan 10y ago
  As far as I've seen, happy user have little incentive to go and leave a good review. But the users who have had some annoyances with the app are definitely going to take it to the reviews. This leaves you with negatively biased reviews a lot of the time.
- bookmarkacc 10y ago
  Not a dark pattern at all. There are no interface tricks
  - NTripleOne 10y ago
    Yeah - however, the whole "do you like our app? yes/no" thing, where yes takes you to the store for review and no takes you to a feedback form (that probably doesn't even post)? Definitely a dark pattern.
    - solarexplorer 10y ago
      The advantage of a feedback form is that the developer can come back to you with suggestions, ask you for details to reproduce a bug, etc. If you just go to the App Store and leave a (negative) review, there is no way for the developer to contact you. Hence the dialog/feedback form pattern. Allowing developers to respond to reviews on the App Store will help with this problem.

toodlebunions 10y ago

When was the last time you browsed the App Store or read reviews?

philliphaydon 10y ago

Now if only I could write reviews... but there's a Long outstanding bug where if you download an app in (in my case Australia) move to singapore, change your store to singapore, redownload the app. The store assumes you don't own the app cos it originated in Australia but your account is now singapore with the singapore downloaded app. And you cannot write a review cos the store is confused. But if the app is downloaded in singapore for the first time you can write a review. Invest the store location again and the inverse happens....

planetjones 10y ago
I have the same issue. And it's even worse. I need two accounts - one for the UK and one for Switzerland. And I have to log out and log in of the app store depending on whether I want a UK app or a Swiss app. For a multi-national company, Apple's support for those living across borders is terrible.
nodamage 10y ago
What's worse is your purchases don't come with you when you switch stores. This has caused us a lot of problems.
arprocter 10y ago
I had something similar happen on PSN. IIRC it wouldn't let me add Plus to a UK account using a US card. I ended up just creating a new account, but it was surprising how difficult they made it to give them money.

localhost3000 10y ago

I'm glad to see Apple beginning to throw developers a bone but this change is about 5 years too late.

yoz-y 10y ago

I really hope that it would be finally possible to use touch id to identify myself when leaving reviews. I do not understand why reviewing seems to be the most sensitive thing I can do on an iPhone, as it is the only feature that always requires the whole password.

wvenable 10y ago
To slow down review farms?
- djrogers 10y ago
  Likely this has a lot to do with it...
- yoz-y 10y ago
  Dubious, you only have to enter your password once and then you can write reviews for 15 minutes or so (I did not check). This only bothers people who leave one review every now and then.

codecamper 10y ago

10 years & wow we can reply to reviews. I guess 4 billion in app store profits can pay for a feature now & then. Now how about tackling fake reviews?

draugadrotten 10y ago
> Now how about tackling fake reviews? From apples point of view, why? If an app gets fake positive reviews, it will sell more, and give Apple higher income. If an app gets fake negative reviews, the developer will just bump the version, the reviews will be forgotten, and there will be no negative effect to Apple. Like the old SNL sketch, Apple doesn't care. They don't have to. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHgUN_95UAw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHgUN_95UAw
- nicky0 10y ago
  Fake reviews devalue all reviews, and this makes them less trustworthy and therefore less useful. And when customers can no longer make informed decisions, they buy fewer apps.

jmcdiesel 10y ago

Developers always want this - but responding to reviews hardly every works out in your favor... its either a shallow "thanks" kind of message or a shallow "sorry" kind of message... and it almost always comes off as disingenuous

nicky0 10y ago
My thoughts exactly. This may or may not improve things.

DavideNL 10y ago

So uhh... can users respond to developers responding to user reviews? ;-)

djrogers 10y ago
Both users and dev can edit their reviews/responses. Seems reasonable, as starting a multi-layer thread in reviews would ultimately defeat the purpose...
- DavideNL 10y ago
  i guess it's reasonable indeed. Although users being able to edit their initial comment can become messy...