How to reply to App Store reviews, and hear about the bad ones within the hour

Someone installs your app, hits a bug on the first screen, and leaves one star. You find the review nine days later while looking for something else. By then they have deleted the app, and the review sits at the top of your product page for every new visitor to read.

Replying fixes more of that than most developers expect. This guide covers how to reply to App Store reviews, how to write a reply that helps, and how to make sure a 1 star review reaches you within the hour instead of within the week.

The short answer

You can reply to any App Store review in App Store Connect under Ratings and Reviews, or through the App Store Connect API. Each review gets one public response, which you can edit or delete later. Replies can take up to 24 hours to appear on the App Store, and the reviewer is notified when they do.

Why a reply is worth five minutes

A reply is public, it sits right under the review, and it reaches the person who wrote it. Apple says so directly on its developer page about ratings and reviews:

"When you respond, the reviewer is notified and has the option to update their review."

"You can respond to all reviews of your app, regardless of when they were written, in App Store Connect."

"Addressing feedback directly on your App Store product page can help you create a better user experience and improve your app's rating."

That notification is the whole point. A reviewer who wrote "crashes on launch" and then reads "fixed in 2.1.1, sorry about that" has a reason to try again and update the review. And even when they do not, the next person reading your product page sees a developer who shows up.

How to reply in App Store Connect

1. Open App Store Connect, go to Apps, and pick your app.
2. Click Ratings and Reviews in the sidebar and select the platform.
3. Click Reply next to the review, write your response, and submit.

The response shows as pending until it goes live. To change it, click Edit Response on the same review. You need the Account Holder, Admin, or Customer Support role to reply.

This works well when you check it regularly. The trouble is the word regularly. Reviews come in from every storefront at any hour, and the bad ones are the ones you most want to answer quickly and least want to go looking for.

Replying from WishKit instead

WishKit connects to App Store Connect with an API key and pulls your reviews into the same dashboard as your feedback board. Here is the flow it is built for:

Connecting takes one API key

In App Store Connect, under Users and Access, then Integrations, create an API key with the Admin role, then download the .p8 file. On the WishKit Integrations page, upload the file and paste the Issuer ID. WishKit reads the Key ID from the file name and checks the key against Apple right away, so a typo shows up as an error on the spot rather than as an empty page later.

Every app the key can see is listed. If the bundle ID matches the app you already use WishKit in, it links to that project automatically, and the first sync pulls in the last year of reviews, up to 1,000 of them. The key is stored encrypted, and disconnecting deletes it along with the synced reviews.

One inbox for every storefront

Reviews from all storefronts land in one list, newest first, each with the reviewer's country. The tabs split them into Needs reply, Replied, and Ignored. Click a bar in the star chart to see only the 1 star reviews, or search across titles, text, nicknames, and countries.

Reply opens a text box under the review. Your response goes to Apple through the App Store Connect API, shows as Reply pending until Apple publishes it, and then moves to Replied. Edit reply replaces it, since Apple keeps one response per review. Replies you post directly in App Store Connect show up in WishKit too, within the hour on recent reviews and within a day on older ones, or right away when you click Refresh.

Ignore is for reviews that need no answer, like "great app" with five stars. They drop out of Needs reply, so that tab stays an honest to-do list.

An email within the hour for 1 and 2 star reviews

WishKit checks App Store Connect for new reviews every hour. When a new review has one or two stars, you get an email with the review text and a button that opens the Needs reply tab.

A weekly summary email lists every new review, the low ones included. New reviews also show up in the notification bell in the dashboard. Both emails are on by default and each can be turned off in Settings under Notifications. Reviews older than seven days are never emailed, so connecting an app with a long history does not flood your inbox.

How to write a reply that helps

• Answer the actual complaint. "Sorry for the trouble" says nothing. "The crash on iPad when rotating is fixed in 2.1.1" gives the reviewer a reason to try again.
• Reply in their language. A German review deserves a German reply. That is how I answer reviews of my own game, Momoko IO, the one in the screenshot above. The country flag next to each review makes the language obvious at a glance.
• Keep it short. Two or three sentences. The reply is read by the reviewer and by every visitor after them, and neither wants a letter.
• Never argue. Even when the reviewer is wrong. Correct the fact once, politely, and leave it there.
• Give them somewhere to go. A support email or a link to your feedback board turns a dead end into a conversation.
• Reply to good reviews too. A short thank you to a detailed five star review costs ten seconds and shows new visitors that someone reads them.

Example replies you can adapt

Four common reviews and a reply to each. The reviews are made up, the kind every app gets. The complaint gets a fix and a version number, the request gets a place to vote, the wrong claim gets one polite correction, and the praise gets a real thank you.

When a review is really a feature request

"Would be five stars if it had widgets" is a feature request with a rating attached. Add to feedback turns the review into a request on your WishKit board, with the title and text filled in from the review and the reviewer's vote already counted. It arrives as pending, so nothing becomes public until you approve it. Then reply to the review with a note that it is on the board.

For the full method of finding these requests, counting them, and deciding what to build, see how to find feature requests in App Store reviews.

What it does not do

• It covers the App Store only. There is no Google Play support.
• It cannot delete a reply. Deleting is done in App Store Connect under Edit Response.
• It does not write replies for you. Every reply is yours.
• The alert threshold is fixed at 1 and 2 stars. You can turn the email off, but not move the threshold.

What it costs

Reading and filtering reviews, the alert emails, and the weekly summary are included on every plan, including Free. Replying and turning reviews into feature requests are part of Premium, which is $15 a month or $12.50 a month billed yearly, with the feedback board, in-app chat, and unlimited users on the same flat price.

Try WishKit with the app you already have. Connecting reviews needs one API key and no app update, and the setup for the in-app feedback board is on the iOS docs page.

Frequently asked questions

Can you reply to App Store reviews?

Yes. In App Store Connect, open your app, go to Ratings and Reviews, and click Reply next to the review. You can also reply through the App Store Connect API, which is how tools like WishKit post replies for you.

Does the reviewer see my reply?

Yes. Apple notifies the reviewer when you respond, and they can update their review. The reply is also public on your product page under the review.

How long does a reply take to appear?

Up to 24 hours. Until then it shows as pending in App Store Connect, and as Reply pending in WishKit.

Can I edit or delete a reply?

Yes, both, in App Store Connect under Edit Response. Only the latest version is shown, marked as edited. WishKit can edit a reply but not delete one.

Can I reply to old reviews?

Yes. Apple lets you respond to any review of your app, no matter when it was written.

How do I get notified about bad App Store reviews?

Connect your app to WishKit with an App Store Connect API key. It checks for new reviews every hour and emails you when one has one or two stars, with a link straight to the reply box.