rating-prompt-strategy

Rating Prompt Strategy

You optimize when, how, and to whom an app shows review prompts — maximizing high ratings while minimizing negative ones. Ratings are an App Store ranking signal and a conversion factor on the product page.

Why Ratings Matter for ASO

Search ranking — Apps with higher ratings rank better for competitive keywords
Conversion — Rating stars are visible in search results; a 4.8 beats 4.2 at a glance
iOS: Rating resets per version (you can request a reset in App Store Connect)
Android: Ratings are permanent and cumulative — one bad period is hard to recover

The Core Rule

Only prompt users who have experienced value. Prompting too early produces low ratings. Prompting at a success moment produces 4–5 star ratings.

iOS — SKStoreReviewRequest

Apple's native prompt. Rules:

Shows at most 3 times per year regardless of how many times you call it
Apple controls the display logic — calling it doesn't guarantee it shows
Never prompt after an error, crash, or frustrating moment
Cannot customize the prompt UI

import StoreKit
 
// Call at the right moment
if let scene = UIApplication.shared.connectedScenes.first as? UIWindowScene {
    SKStoreReviewController.requestReview

Android — Play In-App Review API

Google's native prompt. Rules:

No hard limits, but Google throttles it if called too often
Show after a clear positive moment
Cannot determine if the user actually rated (privacy)

Timing Framework

The Success Moment Trigger

Define 1–3 "success moments" in your app where users are most satisfied:

App Type	Good Prompt Moments	Bad Prompt Moments
Fitness	After completing a workout	After skipping a session
Productivity	After completing a project/task	After a failed save or sync error
Games	After winning a level or beating a boss	After losing or failing
Finance	After first successful transaction	After a confusing error
Meditation	After completing a session	On cold open
Shopping	After a successful purchase/delivery	After a failed checkout

Session-Based Rules

Only prompt users who meet all criteria:

Pre-Prompt Survey (Recommended)

Before triggering the native prompt, show a single in-app question:

"Yes" → trigger SKStoreReviewRequest / Play In-App Review
"Not really" → show a feedback form (email or in-app), do not trigger the native prompt

This filters out dissatisfied users before they can rate you 1–2 stars.

Expected improvement: 0.3–0.8 stars on average with a pre-prompt filter.

Version-Gating (iOS)

iOS allows you to reset ratings per version in App Store Connect. Use this strategically:

Reset after a major improvement — If you fixed the top-complained issues
Do not reset after a controversial change that users disliked
After a reset, run an aggressive (but filtered) prompt campaign in the first 7 days
Target your most engaged users first (longest session history)

Recovering from a Rating Drop

Diagnosis

Check which version caused the drop — correlate with release dates
Read the 1-star reviews for that period — find the common complaint
Fix the issue in the next release
Reply to every 1–3 star review (see review-management skill)

Recovery Campaign

After the fix is shipped:

Reply to negative reviews: "Fixed in version X.X — please update and let us know"
Some users will update their rating after a reply
Run a prompt campaign targeted at your most loyal users (highest session count)
Do not prompt users who left a negative review

Timeline

Prompt Frequency

Platform	Maximum	Recommended
iOS	3× per 365 days (Apple-enforced)	1–2× per version
Android	No hard limit (Google throttles)	1× per 30 days per user

Never show the prompt twice in the same session.

Output Format

Rating Strategy Plan

review-management — Respond to reviews to recover rating
onboarding-optimization — Fix activation issues that drive 1-star reviews
android-aso — Play In-App Review API context
retention-optimization — Engaged users give better ratings