--- static_export_time: "2026-08-11T15:11:19+00:00" title: "How to Increase Ratings & Reviews with iOS Ratings Prompt" description: "Learn how your app can get five-star user ratings and reviews within a year by implementing this simple iOS ratings prompt framework." url: "/en/aso-blog/how-to-increase-ratings-reviews-with-the-ios-ratings-prompt" locale: "en-US" image: "https://www.apptweak.com/img/2023/05/1200x627_with-title_social-media-10.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&q=95" --- # How to Increase Ratings & Reviews with iOS Ratings Prompt ![Tim Jones](/img/2023/03/Tim-Jones.jpeg?auto=format%2Ccompress&w=200&h=200&fit=crop)by  **Tim Jones** Last updated on February 12 2024 — 6 min read Summarize with AI Subscribe to our monthly newsletter Subscribe to our monthly newsletter The iOS ratings prompt, which Apple released in 2017, is a no-brainer for developers looking to acquire quality ratings at scale. Instagram made the headlines when they [acquired 1.7 million ratings](https://medium.com/huggingface/instagram-doubled-its-ios-reviews-in-a-week-thanks-to-this-new-in-app-review-popup-52333d4f4ce6) after they integrated the prompt, doubling their total ratings within a single week. In this blog, we’ll find out about _[Keepsafe Photo Vault](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/secret-photo-vault-keepsafe/id510873505?mt=8)’_s path to 100,000 5-star ratings within a year, using a simple framework that works for any app regardless of its category. _This is a guest post by Tim Jones, Founder & CEO at_ [_LaunchMatic_](https://www.launchmatic.app/)_._ * * * ## Why are App Store ratings important? App Store ratings are incredibly important for your app’s growth. According to data pulled by AppTweak on the top 500 iOS apps in the US, they found that on average apps with high ratings rank 25 spots higher than medium apps, and rank a whopping 60 spots higher than low-rated apps. That’s not all. It’s also known that [ratings have a large impact on your conversion rate](/en/aso-blog/reviews-ratings-a-customer-feedback-goldmine-and-how-it-can-benefit-your-aso), which has influence over other variables. The rating prompt has also made high quality ratings much easier to acquire. According to data pulled from AppTweak, the top 100 in the US App Store are made up of mostly high rated apps. ## iOS ratings prompt implementation framework The framework is broken down into 4 components: - **Who** sees the prompt - **When** in a user’s life-cycle the prompt is shown - **Where** during an app session the prompt pops up - **Cadence** users see the ratings prompt after the first time ### Who: Target activated users Your app was built with a promise – perhaps to lose weight, or to save money, or to get better sleep – to name a few. Your users become activated once your product delivers on the value that it promised. Using the given examples, these values could be: losing 5 pounds, saving your first $100, or 3 nights in a row of incredible sleep. Targeting this cohort of users is important when figuring out **who to show the ratings prompt to** , as your activated users have experienced your product value and are more likely to convert to giving a high rating. At _Keepsafe Photo Vault_, we determined that a user was activated once they had imported a certain amount of content into the app. The completion of this event lead to many other high-value engagement events in addition to much higher retention. ### When: Deliver before your users churn _Churn_ – a word dreaded by many an industry, with no exception to mobile. Looking at [Netigate’s definition](https://www.netigate.net/articles/customer-satisfaction/customer-churn-meaning/): “Customer churn is when an existing customer, user, player, subscriber or any kind of return client stops doing business or ends the relationship with a company.” - With regards to the rating prompt, you want to **target your activated users before they churn**. The longer you wait, the smaller the cohort will become as more users disappear. Make sure to show them the prompt soon after their activation event. - In the case of apps with high churn rates or no insight into user activation, **try to show the prompt after the user has acquired value from your product**. This could be as early as day 2 or 3 depending on the app. Expect a low conversion rate and a slightly lower average rating. For _Keepsafe_, we chose to show the prompt later in the user lifecycle, but before a majority of users churned. Once we determined a user was activated, they would begin seeing the prompt more than a month after initially installing. With this implementation, we saw that while our cohort of users was smaller due to churn, our **conversion rate** and **average star rating dramatically increased**. ### Where: Don’t interrupt the user’s experience This defines **where in your app a user first sees the prompt**. The general rule of thumb is not to detract from an action or value the user is attempting to gain. - If the prompt is the first thing a user sees when they open the app, you are putting yourself between the user and the value they are trying to get. Instead, **show the prompt after a user has experienced value in the app**. This could be after a high-dopamine action like beating a level, creating and sharing a photo, or getting a paid feature for free. - Beware asking users too early, though. For content creation applications such as photo & video editors, the user may only get value from the content they create after they share it. **Showing the prompt to users prior to sharing may interrupt that experience** and result in the user dismissing the prompt. At _Keepsafe_, our activated users continually gain value by viewing their content, so we show the prompt after users have completed that action. To determine completion, we wait on showing the prompt until they navigate from a photo album back to the home screen. ### Cadence: Don’t wait You can only show the prompt 3 times a year, so choosing when to show your second and third prompts is incredibly important. You should be just as cognizant of your churn rate here. This is because **the longer you wait, your churn will naturally decrease the amount of users you can target**. While you have complete freedom to customize where your second and third prompts show, it is suggested rehashing the implementation you used for your first prompt. The consistent placement will help you get a rough performance benchmark to compare against in the future. At _Keepsafe_, we set our second and third prompts to appear 2 weeks after the previous was shown. Knowing our churn rate and the frequency we saw users starting sessions, this was the ideal method to limit the amount of prompts while also targeting users before they churned. * * * ## Summary Prompting for ratings on iOS is very effective. With the iOS ratings prompt, app developers can really look to acquire high-quality ratings more easily. Keep these tips in mind when prompting users for reviews on iOS: - Target activated users who fully understand your app’s value - Show the prompt before users churn in order to maximize returns - Don’t interrupt the user while they are attempting to attain value in your app - Place your ratings prompt consistently and be aware of churn rates [Start free trial](https://app.apptweak.com/accounts/new?locale=en) * * * by **Tim Jones** Tim Jones is the founder of Lauchmatic.app, an app screenshot design automation service based in San Francisco & formerly ASO Growth Manager at [Keepsafe](https://www.getkeepsafe.com/). [ ![](/assets/resources/guides/app-store-keyword-research-guide/app-store-keyword-research-guide-thumb.jpg?auto=format,compress&q=75&w=329&h=214) Your Essential Toolkit for ASO Keyword Research A deep-dive into ASO keyword research. Learn how to find and prioritize your target keywords, localization and ASO best practices. Download now ](/en/aso-resources/guides/essential-toolkit-for-aso-keyword-research) * * * More articles in Reviews and Ratings - [ Reviews and Ratings January 2, 2026 How to increase app reviews: Proven strategies for success Get more app reviews in 2026 with native in-app prompts, smart timing, ethical incentives, and automation. A step-by-step guide. ![Oriane Ineza](/img/2023/03/oriane.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&w=300&h=300&fit=crop)Oriane Ineza ](/en/aso-blog/how-to-get-more-app-reviews) - [ Artificial Intelligence (AI)Product UpdatesReviews and Ratings October 27, 2025 How to Use GPT-5 to Reply to App Store Reviews Powered by GPT-5, Review Management by AppTweak helps you save time managing & replying to app store reviews. ![Georgia Shepherd](/img/2025/03/20240415-Georgia_01.jpeg?auto=format%2Ccompress&w=300&h=300&fit=crop)Georgia Shepherd ](/en/aso-blog/review-management-save-time-reply-to-reviews-with-gpt-4) - [ Reviews and Ratings October 23, 2025 The ultimate 2026 guide to app store reviews Learn why app store reviews matter, how to reply, analyze sentiment, fight fake reviews, and leverage reviews to improve rankings … ![Oriane Ineza](/img/2023/03/oriane.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&w=300&h=300&fit=crop)Oriane Ineza ](/en/aso-blog/app-store-reviews) [See all posts](/en/aso-blog)