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Some iPhone Users Unable to View Latest App Store Reviews [Fixed]

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For the past few weeks, some iPhone users have been unable to view the latest app reviews left by customers in the App Store. Specifically, affected users are only able to read reviews submitted up until January 16 this year.

app-store-awards-2022.jpg

It's unclear how widespread this issue is, but it seems to be very inconsistent, with recent reviews showing for some users and not for others depending on the app. We were able to reproduce the issue on iPhones in the U.S. and Canada, but not on an iPhone the U.K., while the Mac App Store does not appear to be affected whatsoever.

App-Store-TikTok-Review.jpg

The issue was mentioned last week in a Reddit post spotted by Jeff Johnson, developer of the popular web browser extension StopTheMadness for the iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Johnson said he could see a review for his app submitted on January 20 in the App Store Connect developer tool, but he could not see it on the App Store.

Update — January 30: This issue appears to be fixed.

Article Link: Some iPhone Users Unable to View Latest App Store Reviews [Fixed]
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2024/01/29/iphone-app-store-reviews-issue/
Last edited:
  • Sad
Reactions: ghanwani
Apple store reviews are useless.
Many apps have "4.8 ratings", littered with spam and garbage reviews.
On the other side, some lightly-used apps (i.e. state-level 511 or corporate email/productivity applications) have 1.8 ratings when they're not that bad.
 
Koudspeel said:
It's a good thing we're getting alternative App Stores in the EU. It's clear that the default App Store just doesn't cut it anymore.
Click to expand...

Agreed, default app store just doesnt have any good apps to use. And Im one of those guys who also dont want to fill my entire phone with apps which I might use once a month. When I had S23U I loved to customize it, and with Good Lock apps it was free. It was awesome, but then I switched over to 15PM and rememberd how closed it is (also secure though). But if apple doesnt allow somekind of apps in the app store 2.0 then it will end up being exactly like app store 1.0.
 
and nothing of value was lost. Would be nice to have a toggle to disable seeing the reviews altogether. Along with Apple's pay-to-play app advertorials and listicles, while they're at it.

The App Store in general is such a chore to use, IMO. In the rare circumstance that I need yet another stupid app, I try to just jump directly to it from a link on a developer's page or from a recommendation or article on a place like MacRumors, download, and get out.
 
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  • Like
Reactions: lindros2
‪Ye I noticed that too! None of my bad reviews are going through. They just disappeared and says I didn’t review any. Convenient only the good ones are left!!! ‬
 
  • Like
Reactions: lindros2
MLL63QNA said:
Some devs cant handle the truth, happened to me too.
Click to expand...
Depends on the tenor and tone of the review. Irrational ranting, slander, disinformation, accusations of illegal practices tend to be the usual fare in negative reviews. It’s why I don’t read ANY customer reviews on any site. Customer reviews are unreliable. Glowing, over-the-top positive reviews are juts as unreliable. I simply don't care what others think about anything.
 
  • Like
Reactions: cateye
Love that the screenshot is very plausibly a review spamming bot. That’s about what the reviews are worth these days. Kind of sad that the majority of the ones that are believable are the negative ones.
 
PsykX said:
Has this ever worked well ? I've always seen only reviews from 2-5 years ago and have no idea if they're still relevant today.
Click to expand...

I haven’t noticed this bug but yes, it does. I’ve used it recently. You have to tap into the review section and select most recent. It’s the only helpful view. For example an app I purchased was recently purchased by another company who immediately locked all features behind a hefty subscription. But of course it retained high reviews. But sorting by most recent revealed many one star reviews trying to warn people about it. But of course those don’t show up in the default view.

It was Camera+2, deserves to be named and shamed.

t0rqx said:
Why is this news? They have been deleting reviews and threads if they are negative for years.
Click to expand...

This is news because it’s supposed to be a bug. But I too have noticed that if I leave a negative review, especially of an app from a big company with a social media management team, it mysteriously disappears. Positive reviews, however, seem to remain for years…

lindros2 said:
hopefully Apple will remove all reviews or weight them heavily towards recent/new
Click to expand...

Yes I hope they remove it completely as well. The review system has about run its course. Not just with Apple, with anywhere that accepts reviews. It’s up there with SEO now, or worse. So many people gaming the system it has become worse than useless. I don’t know how to do it better but hopefully someone smarter than me is working on a better system. Apple’s is worse than most because they seem to neglect it like most of the App Store.
 
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Reactions: Saturn007
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