If you’ve used iOS apps before, there’s a good chance that you have been prompted to rate and the review the app. These prompts come up from time to time and sometimes they look different from each other, but regardless of how they look, they will all eventually lead users back to the App Store.
However that’s something that Apple wants to change and in the latest App Review guidelines that was updated this week, Apple will now be disallowing the use of custom prompts for app ratings. This means that developers will now all have to use a standardized prompt when asking users to rate and review their app.
According to App Store Review guidelines, “Use the provided API to prompt users to review your app; this functionality allows customers to provide an App Store rating and review without the inconvenience of leaving your app, and we will disallow custom review prompts.” If this sounds familiar, it is because earlier this year we reported that Apple would soon allow users to leave ratings for apps without having to leave the app itself, and that time has finally come.
This will no doubt prove to be a boon for developers who rely on ratings and reviews to increase their downloads and purchases, and with users now being able to leave ratings conveniently, it could encourage users to spare a couple of seconds to rate the app.