Drastic decrease of the number of ratings and reviews on iOS 7

[Frédéric C.]

Hi there,

Since iOS 7 release, it seems the number of reviews for my apps decreased significantly on iOS (Android reviews remain stable). I was receiving daily reviews on the App Store, and now, only one every week or so. I am using the RatingBox ANE by MilkmanGames. I had a talk with the ANE author, who explained that since iOS 7, there's a bug that prevents from going directly to the rating tab of an app on the store. The only workaround is to go to the app product sheet instead, hoping that the user will then click the relevant tab to leave a review.

It seems that this extra step had a huge impact on the number of reviews I get. I was wondering if other developers had experienced the same issue?

Thanks for sharing!

Frédéric

[Colin Holgate]

The URL format changed in iOS 7. Previously you would go here:

"itms-apps://ax.itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewContentsUserReviews?type=Purple+Software&id=514220257”

now you have to go here:

"https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewContentsUserReviews?type=Purple+Software&id=514220257”

I see that there are shorter forms that work on iOS 7, the one I just gave works on all versions I think.

It does seem though that the closest you can get is to the application information page.

[Frédéric C.]

Thank you Colin, I think that's what the ANE author explained to me (you can't go directly to the review tab, but instead to the generic information page). So the users have to select the review tab manually, and for some reason, it seems to have an impact on the number of reviews I got (at least that's how I feel it, that's why I was asking feedback from other fellow developers). I was suspecting the users don't really understand where to click in the store UI and just leave.