How to reply to App Store and Google Play reviews
To reply to an App Store review, open your app in App Store Connect, go to Ratings and Reviews, choose the platform, find the review and click Reply: the response can take up to 24 hours to appear, only one response per review shows on the product page, and the reviewer is notified and can update their review.
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On Google Play the reply goes in Play Console under Reviews, where each review gets one public reply and the user is told by push notification and email; a reply sent through Google's Reply to Reviews API is capped at 350 characters. Both stores let you edit a reply later, and both ask for the same things: answer what the reviewer actually said, stay polite, leave out personal information and promotion, and report abusive reviews instead of arguing with them. Forvibe's ASO Agent drafts replies every day on both stores, each in the reviewer's own language: in Ask first you approve each day's card of replies before anything posts, and in Full auto it posts them on its own once you have approved a card, going back to asking if you reject 2 of the last 5. Whoever writes them, the replies that help are the ones that read like a person answered that one review, because the next shopper reads them on the product page.
The symptoms of reviews nobody answers
One-star reviews about a bug fixed two versions ago sit unanswered, so every shopper who reads them assumes the bug is still there.
Reviews arrive in Portuguese, Japanese and German, and the only replies that go out are in English, or none go out at all.
Every reply is the same pasted thank-you, and the product page reads like a template instead of a team.
Nobody opens two consoles every day, so a crash that reviewers reported on Monday is found on Friday.
How review replies work on the App Store and Google Play
Both stores give each review one public reply that you can edit later, and both tell the reviewer when you answer. They differ in who can reply, how fast a reply shows and how long it can be.
- One reply shows per review
- Apple shows one response per review on the product page. Google Play allows one public reply per review.
- App Store replies take up to 24 hours
- Until a response appears, App Store Connect shows it as pending. Edited responses are marked as edited.
- The reviewer hears back
- Apple notifies the reviewer, who can then update the review. Google sends a push notification and an email.
- Google Play API replies: 350 characters
- Google's Reply to Reviews API takes plain text up to 350 characters per reply.
- Report abuse, don't answer it
- Use Report a Concern in App Store Connect, or report the review in Play Console, for spam or offensive reviews.
- Who can reply
- App Store Connect needs the Account Holder, Admin or Customer Support role. Play Console needs the Reply to reviews permission.
Read the full explanation
On the App Store, replies are written in App Store Connect under Ratings and Reviews by someone with the Account Holder, Admin or Customer Support role, for apps on iOS, macOS, watchOS and visionOS. You can respond to any review, however long ago it was written. A response can take up to 24 hours to appear on the App Store and shows as pending in App Store Connect until then, only one response per review appears on the product page, and you can edit or delete it later; edited responses are marked as edited, and anyone with the role can edit a response someone else wrote. When you respond, the reviewer is notified and can update their review, and App Store Connect can email you when someone edits a review you already answered. Apple's guidance is to keep responses concise and specific to the customer's feedback, respectful, in a tone consistent with your brand, and free of personal information, marketing language and spam, and to personalize them rather than reuse a generic response for similar reviews. If you can't answer every review, Apple suggests starting with the lowest ratings and the reviews that mention technical problems in the current version, and when a fix ships, saying so in the release notes and in replies to the reviews that reported it. For offensive material or spam, Apple asks you to use Report a Concern instead of replying; the reviewer is not told. On Google Play, replies are written in Play Console under Reviews by someone with the Reply to reviews permission. Each review gets one public reply, which you can edit at any time, and you can answer a new review even before it is public. After you reply, the user gets a push notification and an email that includes your reply and a way to contact you at your store listing's email address. Users can change their rating or review at any time, and Play Console shows whether returning users' ratings went up or down, split by whether they got a reply. Replies fall under Google's Developer Comment Posting Policy: be relevant and truthful, be nice, don't solicit or promote, keep it clean, and report inappropriate reviews rather than engage with them; breaking it can lead to suspension of the app or the developer account. Google's Reply to Reviews API, which tools use to read and answer reviews, returns only reviews with comments that were created or changed in the last week, takes plain-text replies of up to 350 characters, and says Google discourages automated replies.
App Store and Google Play replies, side by side
| App Store | Google Play | |
|---|---|---|
| Where you reply | App Store Connect, Ratings and Reviews | Play Console, Reviews |
| Who can reply | The Account Holder, Admin or Customer Support role | Anyone with the Reply to reviews permission |
| Replies per review | One response shows on the product page | One public reply per review |
| When it shows | Up to 24 hours later, pending until then | Publicly, under the review |
| The reviewer | Is notified and can update the review | Gets a push notification and an email, and can change the review at any time |
| Editing | Edit or delete at any time; edits are marked | Edit at any time; the reply history is kept |
| Length | Apple asks for concise responses | 350 characters of plain text through the API |
| Abusive reviews | Report a Concern instead of replying | Report the review as inappropriate |
The sequence for answering reviews well
Check every day, lowest ratings first
If you can't answer everything, Apple suggests starting with the lowest ratings and reviews about technical problems in the current version. Those are the ones shoppers read as a warning.
Answer the specific thing they said
Thank them, then respond to their point in a sentence or two. A reply that names the feature they liked or the problem they hit reads as a person; a generic one reads as a template.
Write in the reviewer's language
A German review answered in English helps nobody reading the German product page. Reply in the language the review was written in.
Give a real next step for problems
Apologize, say the team is looking at it, and give your support email. When a fix ships, mention it in the release notes and tell the reviewers who reported it to update.
Report abuse instead of replying
Spam and offensive reviews go to Report a Concern on the App Store and to the report option in Play Console. Arguing in public only adds another thing to read.
Come back when they update
App Store Connect can email you when a reviewer edits a review you answered, and Play Console shows whether ratings changed after a reply. A changed review deserves a fresh look.
Or let the ASO Agent draft them every day
Forvibe's ASO Agent reads new reviews on both stores every day and drafts a reply to each in the reviewer's language, plus up to 50 older unanswered ones per app and store a day. A reply over the store's limit, or with a link, email or phone number your team didn't give, never posts, and problem reviews are grouped into issues for you.
Questions, answered
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App Store and Google Play reviews, answered in the reviewer's language
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Last updated: October 20, 2026