Item — HN Reader

App tells customer to review it. Customer reviews the app honestly (the nag is annoying and deserves 1 star). Seems like the nag screen worked? :)

(Although in seriousness, I get this point they make further down in the article: "If we don’t request ratings from all users, then the self-initiated ratings tend to be disproportionately people with a complaint rather than satisfied users. ". That's a real problem. )

1 comments

There are ways to non-annoyingly ask for a review.

Wait until the user has meaningfully used the app. Don't interrupt the user mid-flow (a banner on the dashboard, a call-to-action on a piece of existing copy) with a modal. Provide a clear "never ask me" option.

By App Store rules (5.6.1), you're not allowed to ask for reviews through any method other than the Apple modal dialog. This means you can't make it non-obtrusive or customize to add a "never ask me" option.

I tend to doubt they'll reject a subtle "Love our app? We'd love to hear your feedback." that invokes the Apple dialog.

I've seen quite a few apps taking such an approach successfully.

They did for us. After having it there for a the better part of a decade. The luck of the draw with unreasonable reviewers.