Developers cannot delete genuine reviews on the App Store or Google Play. You can report reviews that violate store policies, such as spam, offensive content, or irrelevant content, through App Store Connect and Play Console, and the stores decide whether to remove them. The most effective response to legitimate negative reviews is a helpful public reply and a fix, which can lead users to update their ratings. On iOS, resetting the summary rating changes the displayed average but does not remove reviews.
Why reviews cannot simply be deleted
Reviews exist to help users make informed decisions. If developers could delete criticism, reviews would lose their value. Both Apple and Google therefore keep control of review removal and only remove reviews that violate their policies.
This means your strategy for negative reviews should focus on responding, fixing problems, and generating more positive reviews from satisfied users, rather than trying to remove criticism. Our respond to negative app reviews guide covers templates and triage.
Reporting reviews on the App Store
In App Store Connect, you can report a concern about a review that you believe violates Apple's guidelines, such as reviews containing offensive material, spam, or content unrelated to the app. Apple reviews the report and decides whether to act.
Report only genuine violations. Disagreement with a fair criticism is not a violation. Keep a record of reports and outcomes.
Reporting reviews on Google Play
In Play Console, you can flag reviews that violate Google Play's comment posting policy, such as spam, fake reviews, off-topic content, hate speech, or personal information. Google also removes reviews automatically when its systems detect policy violations or suspicious activity.
If you suspect coordinated fake reviews, document patterns and report them. Our handling review bombing guide explains responding to coordinated attacks.
Responding publicly
Both stores let developers reply publicly to reviews. A thoughtful reply shows prospective users that you listen and act. Acknowledge the problem, explain what you are doing, and offer help through a support channel. Avoid defensive or generic replies.
When you fix an issue, reply to affected reviewers to let them know. Users can update their reviews and ratings. Our review reply templates guide offers examples.
Ratings resets on iOS
On iOS, you can reset your summary rating when releasing a new version. The displayed average starts again, but written reviews remain visible. A reset can help after a major release fixes problems behind many low ratings, but it also discards positive history.
Our iOS ratings reset guide explains when a reset makes sense. Google Play does not offer a manual reset, but its rating gives more weight to recent ratings, as described in how app ratings are calculated.
Fix the root causes
Negative reviews often point to real problems: crashes, bugs, confusing features, pricing, or support issues. Tag reviews by theme, prioritize the most common and severe, and fix them. This reduces future negative reviews more effectively than any reply.
Our app review management guide explains building a voice-of-customer system, and mining reviews for keywords shows how reviews also inform ASO.
Generate more positive reviews ethically
Prompt satisfied users for ratings at success moments using Apple's and Google's official in-app review APIs. More ratings from happy users balance the natural tendency of unhappy users to leave reviews.
Never buy reviews, offer incentives for positive reviews, or gate prompts to only happy users, which violate store policies. Our improve app ratings and in-app rating prompt timing guides explain ethical tactics.
Handling fake or competitor reviews
If you suspect fake reviews from competitors or bots, document evidence such as timing, wording patterns, and reviewer accounts, and report them through the store tools. Respond calmly in public if needed, without accusations.
Continue focusing on genuine users and product quality. Stores' detection systems often remove fake reviews over time.
Using automation responsibly
Apps with many reviews often use tools to triage and draft replies, flagging urgent issues and grouping similar complaints. Automation saves time, but replies should still sound human, address the specific issue, and avoid copy-paste responses that frustrate users further.
Review automated drafts before posting, especially for sensitive categories. Our automated review replies service and app review management guide explain how to combine speed with quality.
Common review handling mistakes
Trying to remove fair criticism by reporting it is a common mistake that wastes time. Another is defensive or generic replies. Some developers buy positive reviews to offset negatives, which risks enforcement.
Ignoring the root causes behind negative reviews ensures they keep coming.
A worked example: recovering from a bad update
A photo app's update introduces a crash, and one-star reviews flood in. The team pauses the staged rollout, ships a fix, and replies to affected reviewers explaining the fix. It reports a few reviews containing offensive language, which are removed.
Over the following weeks, many reviewers update their ratings after the fix, and new prompts at success moments add positive ratings. The Google Play rating recovers quickly; on iOS, the team decides a reset is unnecessary.
How to do it, step by step
- Identify policy violationsSeparate genuine criticism from reviews that violate store policies.
- Report violationsUse App Store Connect or Play Console to report spam, offensive, or fake reviews.
- Reply helpfullyAcknowledge issues, explain fixes, and offer support.
- Fix root causesTag reviews by theme and fix the most common problems.
- Encourage genuine ratingsPrompt satisfied users at success moments with official APIs.
Before and after examples
Illustrative examples written for a generic app in this category, not client results. Swap in your own product, audience, and data.
Report every one-star review.
Report only reviews with spam, offensive, or off-topic content.
Why it works: Reporting genuine criticism wastes effort.
We are sorry you feel that way.
Thanks for flagging the crash on export. Version 4.2.1, out today, fixes it. Contact us in Help if it persists.
Why it works: Specific replies show action.
Buy positive reviews to offset negatives.
Fix the issue and prompt satisfied users at success moments.
Why it works: Ethical tactics avoid enforcement and build durable ratings.
Action plan
- Accept that genuine reviews stay
- Report only policy violations
- Reply specifically and helpfully
- Fix the root causes
- Prompt satisfied users ethically
- Use iOS resets sparingly
Metrics to monitor
- Reviews reported versus removed
- Reply rate and response time
- Rating updates after replies
- Negative review themes over time
- Average rating trend
Record the baseline, release date, audience, markets, and external changes before interpreting movement. Rankings and conversion are useful signals, but a decision is stronger when activation, retention, and business value confirm that the page attracted the right users.
Frequently asked questions
Can developers delete negative app reviews?
No. Developers cannot delete genuine reviews. They can report reviews that violate store policies.
How do I report a fake review?
Use App Store Connect or Play Console to report reviews that violate policies, with evidence of patterns where possible.
Does resetting my iOS rating remove reviews?
No. It resets the displayed summary rating, but written reviews remain.
Can users change their reviews?
Yes. Users can update reviews and ratings, often after a developer reply or fix.
Is it allowed to pay for positive reviews?
No. Buying or incentivizing reviews violates store policies and risks enforcement.
Keep reading
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