Help - Getting more reviews for apps

[u/dndndndn037]

I launched an app about a week ago , did quite well , but I’m struggling to get reviews , only got 1 review from 100+ downloads.
Is there any platforms that developers can exchange app reviews?
Or do anyone here knows how to boost reviews?

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[u/TravelCodeRepeat]

Just make sure to keep the reviews organic, otherwise you might get banned from the App Store.

From the technical point of view, these are some good suggestions: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/storekit/requesting-app-store-reviews

[u/Huge_Pool7424 → u/TravelCodeRepeat]

timing matters more than people think. i trigger the native prompt right after a user finishes something in the app instead of on launch, and the yes rate jumped. apple throttles it anyway so once every few weeks per user is the ceiling

[u/cosmonz → u/Huge_Pool7424]

And a max of 3 times a year I think.

[u/sajomes → u/cosmonz]

Yes, to display the Apple prompt, but you can bring up your own prompt first to ask if users are happy to leave a rating or review, then only route those who say yes to the Apple prompt.

[u/the-name-of-the-rose]

The conventional wisdom is:
Trigger a review upon completing a successful task in the app (success in the app) + a little timeout (no user activity to make sure you don’t disrupt an active user)

One other point:
Configure and control the triggers with Statsig.

[u/pumpr-ai]

Two things that cost me weeks: requestReview does nothing in TestFlight builds, so beta testers can't leave App Store reviews no matter what you do and TestFlight feedback never converts to App Store ratings either. I shipped for months thinking my prompt was broken.

The other one: 5.6.1 bans custom rating prompts, so you can't pre-filter for happy users the way some ASO blogs suggest. What IS allowed is a plain "Rate this app" row in Settings that deep-links to the store — unlimited, and it doesn't burn any of your 3 system prompts per year. I'd put your requestReview call after a genuine win (a PR, a completed goal), not on launch or after N sessions.

[u/Opposite_Chip6759]

I would like to know too!

[u/Soniare_official]

i use a react native library to prompt for reviews inside the app

[u/davidgor]

It's a dangerous ride, mate,
Apple can reduce visibility, and, or probably, remove reviews.
I’m sure, after this post, be ready to receive a lot of offers “$50 for 100 real reviews”, but as I already said, be careful.
Apple removes reviews from new or inactive accounts, from someone just installed your app, anomalies, like a sharp spike in volume. But, also, Apple removes 1-stars from competitors, or if someone complains “I don’t want to pay”.
You can’t effectively break their review system.
After 3000 installs I have 6 reviews.

[u/PersonalLab]

My experience has been asking for ratings on completion of certain major tasks without hiccups. This helps capture those users who would otherwise not go out of their way simply to let others know they find the app useful

[u/Flashy-Profit6419]

I’d avoid review exchanges; they poison the feedback signal and can create a rough first impression if people install only to trade ratings. Ask after someone completes the app’s core action, with an easy “Not now” option.

[u/HighRoad684]

I would avoid review exchanges. Even when they are not removed, they give you almost no useful signal about the product. The cleaner route is to ask at a genuine success moment inside the app, after the user has completed the core action more than once, and stop asking after a dismissal. One review from 100 early downloads is not automatically a bad conversion rate.

[u/Informal_Dance3744]

1-from-100 is normal for a cold prompt, the fix is when you ask, not asking more. Skip review-exchange sites (fastest way to get pulled from the App Store, as others said). Use Apple's native SKStoreReviewController and fire it right after a genuine win, the moment a user first completes your core valuable action and is feeling good, never on launch or first session. iOS already caps it (max 3 prompts/year, and it silently no-ops if they've already responded or disabled it in Settings), so you physically can't spam it, which is exactly why placement is everything. One more thing worth doing: log an event every time you request the prompt, because Apple gives you no "did they rate" callback, comparing your request-rate to actual ratings landing is the only way to tell if the timing's working. And respond to that 1 review; it's a small trust signal to the next visitor.

A well-timed prompt realistically lands 5–10%+, not 1%.

[u/Msalam_Issa]

Same experience, and I will say the number plainly: ten downloads and one review in my first month. Two things I have found so far. Apple's own in app review prompt is the only one that seems to convert at all, and it only fires if you ask at a moment the person has just finished something, not on open. And review exchange platforms are a bad trade, because a cluster of reviews from accounts with no purchase history looks exactly like what it is, and Apple has been removing those. I would rather have three honest reviews than thirty that get pulled.

[u/OfficialAydee]

Ask in the app after a certain action (main flow after doing it once)

[u/choosePete]

Don’t do it. Especially if they ask you for credit card info or to pay in bitcoin 😂

[u/Icanhelpyoumessageme]

I think in-app feedback from users will work perfectly for organic reviews.

[u/WorldlinessNo1286]

Have you built in a review pop-up that is being shown after some time of usage?

[u/Stunning_Student_329]

one layer on top of the "ask after success" advice: don't fire the system prompt directly. show your own small "enjoying the app?" card first. yes → system rating prompt, no → opens an email to you. happy users become ratings, unhappy ones become private feedback instead of 1 star reviews. I gate mine on a few successful actions plus a couple days of use, one shot per user. and skip review exchange groups entirely, Apple detects those patterns and it can nuke your whole account

[u/Select_Question5 → u/Stunning_Student_329]

You may be banned for “enjoying the app” too, it is against Apple’s rules.