When to ask for app reviews: rating prompt timing rules
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The system prompts are limited, so each one should appear when the user is most likely to have an opinion worth sharing.
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What Apple says
- Ask after the user has shown engagement, for example after finishing a game level or a task. Don't ask on first launch or during onboarding, and don't interrupt a task (Human Interface Guidelines: Ratings and reviews).
- Don't ask too often: allow at least a week or two between requests (Human Interface Guidelines: Ratings and reviews). The system shows the prompt at most three times in 365 days (StoreKit: RequestReviewAction).
- Don't request a review from a button tap or other user action (StoreKit: RequestReviewAction, StoreKit sample: Requesting App Store reviews).
- Apple's sample code waits until the user has completed a process several times, hasn't been asked for the current version, and then pauses briefly before asking (StoreKit sample: Requesting App Store reviews).
What Google says
- Trigger the in-app review after the user has used your app enough to give useful feedback, and don't prompt excessively (Android Developers: Google Play In-App Review API).
- The quota is time-bound and unpublished; calling more than once in a short period (for example, less than a month) may not show the dialog (Android Developers: Google Play In-App Review API).
Moments that fit
Our suggestions, consistent with the rules above:
- Right after a success: a completed export, workout, lesson or booking.
- After the user has come back several times over several days.
- After a release that fixed something they used.
Moments to avoid
- First launch, onboarding, paywalls and checkout.
- Right after an error, crash or failed payment.
- Mid-task, or from a "Rate us" button (use a store link for that instead).
Testing
- iOS: in development the prompt is always shown; in TestFlight it has no effect (StoreKit: RequestReviewAction).
- Android: on the internal test track the quota isn't enforced; with internal app sharing the dialog shows but can't be submitted. Use
FakeReviewManagerin unit tests (Android Developers: Test in-app reviews).
Sources
- Human Interface Guidelines: Ratings and reviews
- StoreKit: RequestReviewAction
- StoreKit sample: Requesting App Store reviews
- Android Developers: Google Play In-App Review API
- Android Developers: Test in-app reviews
Related guides
- Get more app ratings: SKStoreReviewController and Play In-App Review rules
- How to reset your iOS app rating on a new release
- How to respond to 1-star reviews after a bad app update
- All app developer guides
Questions
When should I show the App Store rating prompt?
After the user has shown engagement, such as completing a task, and never on first launch, during onboarding or from a button tap.
How often can I ask for a review on Android?
Google doesn't publish the quota. It says calling the API more than once in a short period, such as less than a month, may not show a dialog.
Why doesn't the rating prompt show in TestFlight?
Apple says requesting a review has no effect in TestFlight; it always shows in development builds.