How to reply to App Store reviews (with examples)

How replies work

You reply to reviews in App Store Connect, under your app’s ratings and reviews, or through the App Store Connect API. Users with the right role, such as Admin, App Manager or Customer Support, can respond.

Keep these facts in mind:

• Your response is public. It appears on the App Store below the review, for anyone to read.
• Each review has one developer response. You can edit it later, and the edited version replaces the old one.
• The reviewer can be notified of your response and can update their review afterwards. Updated reviews show the new text and rating.
• Your reply can take some time to appear on the App Store.
• You can only respond to reviews with written text, not to star ratings without a review.

Why it is worth replying

• Users who see a quick, helpful answer are more likely to update a low rating once the problem is fixed.
• Potential users read replies too. A calm answer to a harsh review often reassures them more than a dozen five-star reviews.
• Reviews are free bug reports and feature requests. Replying lets you ask for details or point to a fix.
• It keeps you close to your users, especially if you are a small team without a big support department.

The right tone

Write like a person, not like a press release. Thank them, address the specific point, say what you will do or have done, and keep it short. Never argue publicly, never reveal private details about the user, and don’t paste the same canned text under every review, because people notice.

Avoid promises you can’t keep, such as exact release dates. “It’s on our list” is honest; “next week” becomes a problem if the week passes. If you want to continue privately, point to your support email or in-app support rather than asking for personal data in public.

Template: bug report

“Thanks for letting us know, and sorry for the trouble. We fixed a crash when opening the photo library in version 2.3, which is now available. If it still happens after updating, please write to support@example.com with your device and iOS version so we can look into it right away.”

Adjust the details, and only claim a fix that is actually live. If it isn’t fixed yet, say you can reproduce it and are working on it.

Template: feature request

“Thank you for the idea. Exporting to PDF is something several people have asked for, and it’s on our list. We can’t promise a date yet, but we read every request like this one. Until then, you can share your data as CSV from the export menu.”

If the feature already exists, show the way to it kindly, without implying the user should have found it. That’s a sign your interface could be clearer.

Template: angry review

“We’re sorry this was so frustrating. You’re right that the paywall appeared too early in the last version, and we changed that in today’s update. If anything else isn’t working for you, write to support@example.com and we’ll help personally.”

Take the useful part of the criticism seriously and ignore the insults. If a review breaks Apple’s rules, for example with offensive content or spam, you can report a concern in App Store Connect instead of replying.

Building a routine

Reply within a few days, start with low ratings and with reviews about bugs, and revisit your answers when you ship a fix. Editing your response to say “this is fixed in version 2.4” gives the reviewer a reason to update their rating.

Remember that reviews are per country. If your app is available in several languages, reply in the language of the review.

Replying with Connect Insights

Connect Insights collects the reviews from every country in one list and shows ratings per country with their history. With Connect Insights Pro you can reply to reviews right in the app on iPhone, iPad and Mac, and get notifications for new reviews and star ratings, so you see a critical review on the day it’s written. The app only changes something in App Store Connect when you trigger it yourself, such as publishing a reply.