How to get more App Store ratings and reviews, within Apple's rules (2026)

By Sigsten Gustavii· 12 October 2026· Updated 27 October 2026· 8 min read

Ratings do two jobs at once. They show next to your app in search results and on the product page, where they help people decide, and Apple's search page says they can influence how an app ranks. A new app with no ratings looks riskier than it is.

The way to get more of them is not complicated, but Apple's rules are strict about how you ask. This guide covers the system prompt and its limits, when to ask, how to reply to reviews, and exactly what the App Review Guidelines forbid.

Apple's rating prompt: how it works

iOS has a built-in rating prompt: a small card that asks for a star rating and an optional written review, without leaving your app. Guideline 5.6.1 says to use the provided API to ask for reviews, and that Apple will disallow custom review prompts. In SwiftUI the API is RequestReviewAction, read from the environment as requestReview and called like a function, on iOS 16 and later. In UIKit, Apple now points to AppStore.requestReview(in:), since the older SKStoreReviewController was deprecated in iOS 18.

Calling it is a request, not a command. iOS decides whether the card appears, using rules from Apple's documentation:

• At most three times in 365 days for a person who has not rated the app on that device.
• Only for a new version, and more than 365 days later, for someone who has already rated or reviewed it.
• Never, if they turned it off. People can switch off rating requests for every app on their device.
• Always while you develop the app, so you can see it, but never in TestFlight builds.

Because the card may not appear, Apple says not to call it in response to a button tap: someone who taps "Rate us" and sees nothing will think the app is broken. For a button, use a link instead.

The link that always works

Apple allows a persistent link to your App Store page, for example a "Rate this app" row in your settings screen. Add ?action=write-review to your app's App Store URL and the link opens the App Store straight on the page for writing a review. It has no yearly limit, because the person chose to tap it.

When to ask for a rating

Timing decides whether a prompt brings a five-star rating or a dismissal. Apple's Human Interface Guidelines and its StoreKit sample agree on a few rules:

1. Ask after engagement. Wait until someone has completed something meaningful: a workout logged, a list finished, a level cleared.
2. Not as the app opens, and not during onboarding. People have not formed an opinion yet, and Apple warns they may even rate lower.
3. At a natural pause, never in the middle of a task.
4. Not too often. Apple suggests leaving at least a week or two between requests, after more engagement.
5. Once per version. Apple's sample app skips the prompt if it already showed it for the current version.

Apple's own sample waits until a person has completed a process four times and then pauses on the success screen for a few seconds. The number is arbitrary, Apple says; the point is to ask people who already got value from the app, which also means better-informed reviews.

Reply to reviews

Replying is the most underused way to improve ratings. According to Apple's ratings and reviews page, you can respond to any review in App Store Connect, however old. The reviewer is notified and can update their review, and you can edit your reply at any time; only the latest version shows.

• Thank people for good reviews briefly; it shows the app is alive.
• Answer complaints with a fix, or a date: "Fixed in 1.2, out this week." A changed review often follows.
• Keep it respectful and specific. Guideline 5.6.1 says replies must not include personal information, spam or marketing.
• Report, do not argue. For offensive content or spam, use Report a Concern under the review in App Store Connect; the writer is not told.
• Reply after each major update, when Apple says people are most interested in sharing feedback.

What Apple forbids

Apple treats ratings as part of the App Store's integrity, and the penalties are serious. The introduction to section 3 of the App Review Guidelines says that if you try to manipulate reviews, or inflate your chart rankings with paid, incentivised, filtered or fake feedback, or use a third-party service to do it, Apple may expel you from the Apple Developer Program.

• Guideline 3.2.2(x): apps must not force people to rate or review the app, or take other store actions, to use its features or content.
• Guideline 5.6.1: use Apple's API to ask for reviews; custom review prompts are disallowed.
• Guideline 5.6.3, Discovery Fraud: manipulating charts, search, reviews or referrals to your app is not permitted.
• Guideline 5.6, Developer Code of Conduct: repeated manipulative or misleading behaviour leads to removal from the program.
• Guideline 5.6.4, App Quality: lots of negative reviews and refund requests are signs Apple watches when it judges a developer's conduct.

In practice that rules out rewards for a rating, such as coins, extra features or a discount; review-swap groups; paid review services; and a "Do you love this app?" screen that only sends happy people to the prompt, since Apple names filtered feedback alongside fake feedback. It also means promo codes are no shortcut: people who redeem one cannot rate or review the app.

Should you reset your summary rating?

When you release a new version, App Store Connect lets you reset the summary rating, the star average, separately in each country or region. Written reviews stay. It can help when an old version had a bad bug that is now fixed. Apple's guidance is to use it sparingly: a reset starts the count from zero, and an app with few ratings can put people off downloading it.

The real lever: an app people are glad they found

Every tactic above multiplies the experience people have. Apple's own guidelines say the way to encourage good ratings is a great overall experience. In practice that means fixing crashes fast, making the main task obvious, and answering what reviews ask for in the next update. A steady rhythm of small fixes, each mentioned in your replies, does more for ratings than any prompt timing.

Ratings for an app built with Borel

Borel makes the part that earns ratings quick: improving the app. You describe an iPhone app in plain words, Borel writes it in Swift and builds it on its own Mac, and you try every change on a live iPhone in your browser, free, before it reaches anyone. When a review says a button is hard to find, the fix is one message, and Run review checks the build for App Review risks before you publish the update.

Borel's AI is also told never to put fake people, fake reviews or invented statistics in your app, so a testimonial screen will never quietly break Apple's rules. Add the link to your App Store review page in your settings screen with a message like the one below, and reply to reviews in App Store Connect under your own account.

Add a "Rate this app" row to the Settings screen, above About. It opens https://apps.apple.com/app/id1234567890?action=write-review in the App Store. Use a star icon.

Building starts free, with 5 free credits a day, up to 30 a month. Publishing to the App Store takes Borel Pro, from $20 a month, and Apple's Developer Program, $99 a year. See the pricing page and how Borel works.

The bottom line

More App Store ratings come from asking the right people at the right moment, with Apple's own prompt: after they finish something, not as the app opens, and never more than iOS allows. Add a "Rate this app" link for anyone who wants to, reply to every review, and fix what people complain about. Stay well clear of rewards, paid reviews and filtered prompts: Apple can remove the app and the developer. Our guide to promoting an app with no budget shows where ratings fit in the wider plan.

I read every review of anything we make, the harsh ones most carefully. Ask at the right moment, answer kindly, and the ratings tend to follow.

– Sigsten

Make your iPhone app in Borel

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