How to Remove App Reviews
Janaya Jensen • October 23, 2019
Reviews can make or break an app no matter how useful it is. However, that doesn’t mean that you should take each one at face value. Disgruntled customers are one thing, but questionable reviews from troublemakers can land your creation in hot water.
The good news is that there are a number of ways you can edit those comments and reveal them for the scams they are.
Deleting and Editing App Store Reviews from iPhones and iPads
You can find all of the app reviews by going to the settings in your iTunes account. Use it to view and delete reviews using your iPhone or iPad. Simply take the following steps:
Step 1 – Tap on the settings app on your iPhone or iPad.
Step 2 – Tap on iTunes and App Store .
Step 3 – Go to the very top and tap on the Apple ID . Choose View Apple ID that pops up.
Step 4- Enter your password when you are asked to.
Step 5 – Choose Ratings and Reviews.
Step 6 – Locate the review you want to remove and swipe left on it to reveal a delete option.
Step 7 – A message will pop up confirming that the review was removed.
Deleting and Editing App Store Reviews from Android
When you download an app, it is linked automatically to your Google account. Follow these steps to remove or change a review:
Step 1 – Open the Google Play Store using your Android phone or tablet.
Step 2 – Go to the details of the app in question.
Step 3 – Scroll down to the Reviews section.
Step 4 – To edit a review, tap Edit your review
, make the required changes, and click Post
. If you want to delete a review, tap More
and then Delete
.
How to Handle Bad Reviews and Disgruntled Customers Professionally
Negative app reviews can wreak havoc on your app’s reputation on Google Play Store. However, that does not mean you should remove app reviews indiscriminately. Here are a few things you can do to deal with customers who are unhappy with your app.
Apologise Formally
It can be tempting to respond to a bad review with a few choice words, but that is the worst thing you can do. Take a couple of minutes to collect your thoughts. This way, you can evaluate the review and see if it is even worth replying to.
If the reviewer is justified in his/her opinion, the first thing you need to do is apologise for their experience. However, rather than sending the typical ‘we are sorry about the inconvenience you faced’ reply, customise your reply according to the content of the review.
A personalised response will smooth ruffled feathers more effectively since it will reassure the customers that you have their best interests at heart.
Fix the Issue
If the app is giving your customers more trouble than they can handle, do not hesitate to contact the customers personally. This is a good way to show them that you are genuinely interested in fixing their problem.
After listening to their problem, devise a solution and let them in on it by revealing the steps you will take. Once the issue is resolved, contact the user to inform them and confirm that they are not facing the same problem.
With this approach not only will you make the disgruntled customer happy, but also potential customers who see this interaction on the review page.
Avoid Excuses
The worst thing you can do when you face an unhappy customer is make excuses. Even if the customer is at fault, ignoring their issue can make other users see you in a bad light.
Your job is to be as honest and transparent as possible. For that to be possible, you need to look at the problem from the customer’s point of view and come up with solutions that can make them give your app a second chance.
Use Negative Feedback to Improve
Not everyone will fall in love with your app, no matter how awesome it is. You will get bad reviews but that’s not exactly a bad thing. In fact, it’s gold. Use that feedback to make improvements in your app and you will see fewer negative comments. Determine a common pattern to figure out which aspects need work and the ones you can do away with.
If you take negative feedback personally, your app will never grow. Use this approach as a framework to make your business evolve and to create future apps.
Ignore the Trolls
Internet trolls thrive on attention and unfortunately, your app may attract some no matter how much you wish it didn’t. They want you to engage with them so that they can smear your app’s reputation. So rather than letting yourself be drawn into an argument you cannot win, the best way to deal with them is to ignore their existence. The more you try to reason with them, the worse it can get for you, your business, and your app.
Encourage Positive Reviews
Encouraging users to leave reviews for your app is just good business. While some may leave comments without being prompted, others may need to be reminded time and again. How else are you going to get enough feedback to make changes where they are due?
How to Increase App Reviews
No matter what types of apps you create, you have your work cut out for you when it comes to making them stand out. There are literally thousands of apps that are competing on the same platforms after all.
The best way to make yours stand out is to encourage people to leave reviews. Of course, you cannot expect every user to leave a review as soon as they use the app. In fact, you will probably get reviews that criticise it at first, which is not a bad thing.
Here are some tips that can help you attract more reviews and give your apps a much needed boost in the rankings.
1. Use a Plug-in
One of the best and fastest ways to receive an app review is just by asking for it. Just ask users to give your app a review and chances are that most will oblige. No, this doesn’t mean that you should spam them with requests. There are a number of plug-ins that will issue request prompts to encourage them to leave their opinions.
Make sure that get one that is suitable for iOS and/or Android depending on the platform your app works on. For instance, Appirater is suitable for iPhones and iPads and takes just a couple of minutes to install.
It prompts users that have used the app a certain number of times or after a set time period has passed. It also has an Android version.
Just make sure that you set the prompt time carefully. If the review popup pops up too soon or right after someone downloads the app, you will get a number of annoyed users and an equal number of ‘bad’ reviews.
2. Use Incentives
Of course, no one likes pop ups especially if they keep popping up each time someone tries to download an app. Most simply ignore the popup altogether.
You can’t prevent that from happening but you can reduce the number of times it happens significantly. To make sure you get as many reviews as possible, you need to give users something that can encourage them to give their opinions readily.
For instance, you can program a game app to give in-game reward points to users who leave a review after he/she completes a couple of levels. Who doesn’t like free stuff? This incentive will increase downloads and increase the number of reviews you get.
Take the app, Celebrity Guess for instance. It prompts users who completed the first 4 levels to leave a review and rewards them. Even though it rewards users whether they leave their review or not, the strategy is clearly working since it has gotten a ton of them ever since it launched back in 2013.
Rather than copying what everyone else is using, create your own review prompts by figuring out the best way to reward your users. This might take some effort, but it will be worth it in the long run.
3. Use Helpshift
When it comes to getting app reviews, you really cannot go wrong with good customer service. If you want to be more involved in the process, you can communicate directly with users by integrating Helpshift into your app. This will create a 2-way messaging window that you can use to chat to users directly.
The application offers a dashboard that can be operated online and allows users to exchange one on one messages with app users. In other words, the next time someone needs help with your app, they can just get in touch with you directly and get solutions to their issues almost immediately.
That is much better than bombarding them with emails asking them about their experience which will probably populate their spam folder anyway. This will also increase your chances of getting a review for the app sooner rather than later.
Helpshift is quite simple and easy to integrate since it comes with its own review popup plugin. It has a ‘Send Feedback’ button which takes users directly to the aforementioned chat window where they can tell you their issues regarding your app.
4. Time Prompts Smartly
Getting a popup to the face is probably not the smartest way to convince users you aren’t desperate for their reviews. Rather than sending prompts their way as soon as they download or launch your app, you should time it according to their user experience.
Think about it. Would you use an app as enthusiastically if you are asked to do something before you can access it? That is the best way to reduce user engagement. Some may even close the app in frustration.
A better way to ask for reviews is to wait till the user has accomplished something within the app or finished a level for instance. In other words, a prompt should appear when the user is in the best frame of mind or when they are feeling good about themselves.
That will increase chances of them leaving a glowing review and encourage them to share the app with others as well.
5. Use a Contest
Another good way to increase reviews on your app is by holding a contest. For example, you can give prizes to users who use your app for a specific period of time or who complete a certain level.
Prizes should vary of course. For example, you can give an iTunes gift card to the winner or a cash reward. The winner should be picked randomly but you will be the real winner in a manner of speaking.
That’s because, not only will you increase your app’s reach, you will also get access to the email addresses that you can use for an email strategy.
Be completely transparent when you are choosing a winner and give a shout out to contestants to make them feel extra special. Remember, the more special they feel, the higher their chances of leaving a review.
They may even create a full post detailing their contest experience which will encourage other contestants to leave their own.These were just some of the ways you can increase app reviews for your iOS or Android app.
Of course, not all reviews will be good ones but rather than removing app reviews you can use them to make improvements that will pay off a hundred times over.
