Branded Mobile: How to Respond to App Store Reviews

Branded Mobile by Thinkific gives you flexibility and control over your own app store listing, including the reviews. This article outlines the step-by-step instructions on how to respond to the app store reviews.

About This Feature

A branded mobile app will fit into your audience’s existing routines, making it easier for them to learn and engage with your content — all on their own schedule. This means higher course completion rates, improved student satisfaction, and more revenue opportunities for your business.

Increase your brand visibility and recognition with a white-labeled mobile app that has your own logo, colors, and style for a continuous brand experience across all channels.

Responding to Reviews in the Apple App Store

The Apple App Store allows you to respond to an app store review, and edit or delete your response, response. Note: Only one response per review will appear on your App Store listing. To view and respond to your app reviews:

Go to App Store Connect
From My Apps, select your app
Under General, select Ratings and Reviews
On the right side, select the platform (iOS or macOS) with the review you want to reply to
Find the review and click Reply next to the review
Enter a reply in the text field and click Submit

For instructions on how to edit or delete a response, see: Respond to reviews.

Learn more about the best practices when responding to ratings and reviews here: Ratings, reviews, and responses.

Responding to Reviews in the Google Play Store

The Google Play Store allows you to respond to a review, edit your response, or delete your response. You need to ensure that your account has Reply to reviews permission. To view and respond to your app reviews:

Go to your Google Play Console
Under Ratings & Reviews, select Reviews
Find the review you want to respond to
In the Your Reply field below a review, type your response or select a suggested reply

If you choose to use a suggested reply, you can edit it before publishing your response. Suggested replies are only available for recent reviews written in English for developers who view Play Console in English.
Select Publish Reply

For further instructions, as well as information on how to analyze your reviews, see: View and analyze your app's ratings and reviews.

Learn more about the best practices when responding to ratings and reviews here: Reviews.

Response Best Practices and Templates

There are several things to keep in mind when responding to reviews:

It's a good idea to reply to your reviews - especially negative ones. Addressing feedback can help you create a better user experience and show that you care about your users. Additionally, apps that reply to their reviews tend to have a higher overall rating, as reviewers are notified and have the option to update their reviews.
Keep your responses respectful, helpful, and concise.
If possible, reply to new reviews promptly, especially after a new version of your app is released.
While using templates or canned responses can help you respond to all reviews efficiently, whenever possible, we recommend personalizing your response.

For more information and best practices, see:

Below are some response templates that you can use when responding to your reviews. Remember to personalize them, whenever possible to create a personal touch.

Positive review

Thank you for your feedback, [Name]! We are glad that you are enjoying the app and [positive things the review mentioned in their review].

Negative review

Thank you for sharing your feedback, [Name]! We are sorry to hear that the app does not work as expected. I will flag this with our team, so we can look into resolving it in future updates.

Review about functionality that is not yet available

Thank you for sharing your feedback, [Name]! I understand that it would be great to have the ability to [feature they mentioned] on the app. I will flag this with our team.

Make sure to let Thinkific know of any bugs or feature requests that your students have! Our team is continuously working on updating branded apps and fixing any bugs.

Important Considerations

Once you respond to a user review, the user will be notified.
You can only submit one response per review, however, you can edit or delete your response and submit another.
The Google Play Store generally delays publishing new ratings and reviews for approx. 24 hours. During this time, you can still see and respond to new reviews, even if they aren't public yet.