Brainrot reviews: what App Store users complain about
We read the 300 most recent App Store reviews of Brainrot: Screen Time Control (by Smolworks Inc) from 14 storefronts, dated 13 August 2026 to 22 October 2026. Average rating in this sample: 1.80★. All-time App Store rating: 4.5★ from 23k ratings. 251 reviews (84%) gave 1–3 stars.
Star ratings in this sample
| Stars | Reviews | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 5★ | 35 | 12% |
| 4★ | 14 | 5% |
| 3★ | 12 | 4% |
| 2★ | 34 | 11% |
| 1★ | 205 | 68% |
Rating by month
| Month | Reviews | Avg stars | 1–3★ share |
|---|---|---|---|
| October 2026 | 41 | 2.07★ | 76% |
| September 2026 | 124 | 1.96★ | 80% |
| August 2026 | 135 | 1.57★ | 90% |
What 1–3★ reviews mention
157 English-language 1–3★ reviews in the sample (US, UK, Canada, Australia and India storefronts), matched against fixed keyword lists per theme.
| Theme | Reviews mentioning it | Share of 1–3★ reviews |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing / subscription | 139 | 89% |
| Bugs | 21 | 13% |
| Ads | 19 | 12% |
| Feature requests | 12 | 8% |
| UX / design | 7 | 4% |
| Crashes / freezes | 4 | 3% |
A review can mention several themes.
Most-mentioned issues
- Ease paywall pressure: 23 of 157 1–3★ reviews. What to do: Keep core features usable for free users or explain clearly what is paid; show the paywall less often.
“It promises you all this stuff then hides it behind a paywall it doesn’t even offer a free version with limited features” (1★, v2.0.8, 2026-08-27, US) - Reduce ad frequency and length: 15 of 157 1–3★ reviews. What to do: Cap ads per session, avoid unskippable video, and never show ads in the middle of a core task.
“Great idea! This app would certainly help a bunch. But in order to get help, you need to pay? I understand that everyone has to make money somehow, but as a teenager myself, I don’t agree with having to pay. I feel like ads would be more effective. If kids don’t or can’t tell the…” (1★, v2.0.8, 2026-08-13, US) - Make trials and renewals transparent: 13 of 157 1–3★ reviews. What to do: Show the renewal date and price before the trial ends; link to cancellation. Surprise charges drive 1-star reviews and refunds.
“Stay away from this app. I have been charged for$4.99 every single week despite having not used this app for several months. It is not listed under my subscriptions on my Apple account. I have tried to contact the developer several times and also tried to go through Apple support…” (1★, v2.0.8, 2026-09-21, US) - Ship the most requested feature: 8 of 157 1–3★ reviews. What to do: Read the quotes below for the exact request; consider a public roadmap.
“The idea of this app is Fantastic but execution with having to pay to access just ruined the whole thing. I wanna use this to be focused on my college work but cannot cause I’m a broke college student. Why not make a good thing free when you know it will help? If there’s no optio…” (1★, v2.0.8, 2026-09-04, US) - Fix login / account access: 6 of 157 1–3★ reviews. What to do: Audit the sign-in flow (SSO, password reset, verification emails) on the latest version; add clear error messages.
“You're asked a bunch of questions then at the end you have to sign up for a subscription. They make you go through all this effort so that you feel like you alr ady wasted time so you might as well do it. This is a psychological tactic meant to get you to make a purchase. They sh…” (1★, v2.0.8, 2026-08-25, US) - Fix features broken by the latest update: 6 of 157 1–3★ reviews. What to do: Add regression tests for the features users name in these reviews before the next release.
“Paid for the app, it worked great for five days then stopped working entirely. Messed with the settings, checked permissions, it wouldn’t accurately track my screen time so it wouldn’t block my apps. Tried deleting the app and redownloading to see if it would fix the bugs - it…” (1★, v2.0.10, 2026-09-29, US)
Rating by app version
| Version | Reviews | Avg stars | 1–3★ share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2.0.10 | 46 | 2.02★ | 76% |
| 2.0.9 | 20 | 2.15★ | 75% |
| 2.0.8 | 231 | 1.73★ | 86% |
Versions with fewer than 5 reviews in the sample are left out.
Is Brainrot your app?
The full report reads up to ~300 of the latest public App Store reviews, classifies them into 7 themes and 18 specific issues, and ranks the 10 fixes that would move your rating most. PDF by email within 24–48 h.
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Launch prices until 30 Nov 2026 or the first 20 orders (then €49).
Method and limits
Reviews were collected once from Apple's public customer-reviews feed (most recent first, 14 storefronts merged, up to 300 reviews). Star, month and version figures are plain counts of that sample. Theme and issue figures come from fixed keyword patterns (for example “subscription”, “charged”, “refund” for pricing) run on English-language 1–3★ reviews only; a keyword match is not a judgement of the review, so check the quotes. The paid report classifies every review with an AI model into 7 themes and 18 issues with severity. This is a snapshot of recent reviews, not the app's full history. Generated 24 October 2026. Not affiliated with Smolworks Inc or Apple.
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FAQ
What do Brainrot users complain about most?
In 157 English-language 1–3★ App Store reviews from 2026-08-13 to 2026-10-22, the most-mentioned theme was pricing / subscription (89%) and the most-mentioned issue was “ease paywall pressure” (23 reviews).
How many Brainrot App Store reviews are negative?
251 of 300 recent reviews (84%) gave 1–3 stars. Average rating in this sample: 1.80★.