App review prompts are one of the more annoying — though admittedly minor — issues with smartphones and tablets. Apple has announced some new rules regarding app review prompts and how often developers are allowed to request them.

New App Review Rules

Apple first launched the App Store rating API with iOS 10.3 earlier this year, but its use was optional. However, Apple did say that it would become mandatory and it appears that time has arrived. The newest version of the App Store Review Guide includes provisions requiring developers to use the App Store rating API.

"Use the provided API to prompt users to review your app; this functionality allows customers to provide an App Store rating and review without the inconvenience of leaving your app, and we will disallow custom review prompt," Apple said in its review guidelines.

The use of Apple's API makes things easier for developers and users alike. On the consumer front, it allows the user to leave a rating from one star to five without leaving the app. Custom-built prompts would force users to leave the app and go to the App store in order to provide a rating. It was an inconvenient system and many users just ignored the prompts. The update should make customers more willing to give feedback on the apps they use every day.

More importantly, the API limits the number of prompts that can be sent to three a year. To make things even easier for users, once a review has been left, developers must wait until at least a year has passed and a new version of the app has been released until they can ask consumers with more requests for reviews. Users are also given control as to whether or not they even want to see review prompts at all.

Developer Complaints

While these new rules are clearly a boon for consumers, many developers may find the constraints too limiting. If a developer releases a new version of their app, they cannot solicit users for a new rating unless it has been at least a year since the user gave a review. This, however, does have some downsides to consumers as well. If an app has recently undergone significant changes then it might be more difficult to find relevant reviews unless users take the time to write reviews without being prompted.

That being said, iOS 11 will bring one very nice feature to developers. Previously, when a new app version of an iOS app was released, the ratings would be reset to zero since the current App Store only aggerates reviews of the current versions of the software. With iOS 11, developers will be able to preserve their ratings across multiple versions of their apps.