You reply to Google Play reviews in Play Console under Ratings and reviews > Reviews: type in the reply field below a review and publish it. Keep replies short, specific to what the user said, and honest, and never ask for a higher rating or offer anything in exchange for a review. Your first reviews come from strangers, so how you answer them sets the tone for everyone who reads your listing next.
Where reviews come from now
During closed testing, "testers cannot leave public reviews on Google Play for test versions." Their feedback reached you privately under Monitor and improve > Ratings and reviews > Testing feedback and "won't affect your app's public rating."
Once you're in production, that changes. Public reviews start arriving from real users, usually slowly at first. If you're just past approval, our article on next steps after production access covers the launch itself; this one is about the conversation that follows.
How to reply in Play Console
Google's help page View and analyze your app's ratings and reviews describes the steps:
- Open Play Console and go to the Reviews page (under Ratings and reviews).
- Find the review. The page has filters that help once you have more than a handful.
- In the "Your reply" field below the review, type your response.
- Select Publish reply.
Two details worth knowing:
- "After you reply to a user's review, they receive a push notification and an email notification." So write as if they'll read it right away, because they might.
- "You can edit your reply to a review at any time." Users can also update their rating or review at any time.
Google's guidelines for replies
Google's help page lists a few principles: make it clear and relevant, be nice, don't solicit, and keep it clean. Replies should "directly address the user's comment in a clear, valuable, and truthful manner."
The ratings and reviews policy adds practical advice: "keep your reply focused on the issues raised in the user's comments and don't ask for a higher rating," and "include references to helpful resources such as a support address or FAQ page."
Never incentivize or buy reviews
This is a hard line, not a style choice. Google's policy says: "Developers must not attempt to manipulate the placement of any apps on Google Play. This includes… inflating product ratings, reviews, or install counts by illegitimate means, such as fraudulent or incentivized reviews and ratings." The summary is equally plain: "We prohibit any manipulation of ratings, reviews, or install counts. This includes incentivizing feedback… or paying for fake reviews."
In practice, that means:
- Don't offer coins, discounts, premium features or anything else in exchange for a rating.
- Don't pay anyone, including friends, groups or services, to post reviews.
- Don't ask your closed testers to "leave five stars at launch." Testers are there to test, not to review.
- Don't reply to a negative review with "change your rating and we'll give you…"
You may ask users for honest feedback. Just keep it free of any reward and don't steer them toward a particular score.
How to write a good reply
To a bug report
- Thank them briefly.
- Acknowledge the specific problem in their words.
- Say what happens next: you're investigating, or it's fixed in a version that's rolling out.
- Give a support address if you need more details.
Thanks for reporting this. The app closing when you add a photo is a bug, and we've found the cause. A fix is in the next update. If it still happens after updating, please email [email protected] with your phone model.
To a feature request
Be honest about whether it's planned. "Good idea, it's on our list" is fine only if it's true. "We don't plan to add this soon, but we've noted it" is better than a vague promise.
To a negative review with no detail
Stay calm and ask one specific question, with a support contact. Don't argue, don't guess at their problem in public, and don't share their personal details.
To a positive review
A short, genuine thanks is enough. You don't need to reply to every five-star review, but answering a few shows the app is actively maintained.
Make reviews part of your workflow
Your first weeks are when reviews matter most for fixing real problems.
- Check reviews daily for the first weeks. Many teams set a fixed time for it.
- Tag recurring issues in a simple log, the same way you handled feedback during the closed test. Our guide to collecting feedback describes a log that works here too.
- Cross-check with Android vitals. If several reviews mention crashes, look at your crash rate and ANR rate. See Android vitals basics.
- If you're on a staged rollout, a cluster of bad reviews is a signal to pause and fix before going further. Using a staged rollout explains how.
- Reply after you ship a fix. Edit your earlier reply or add the version number so users know it's worth updating.
What not to put in a reply
- Personal data about the user
- Arguments, sarcasm or blame
- Links to unrelated websites or other apps
- Promises you can't keep, like a specific release date you're unsure of
- Any request to raise the rating
Checklist
- Reviews page checked daily during the first weeks
- Replies specific, friendly and truthful
- Support address or FAQ included where useful
- No rewards or requests for higher ratings, ever
- Recurring issues logged and fixed, then followed up
Key takeaways
- Reply from Ratings and reviews > Reviews; users are notified of your reply.
- Address the actual issue and point to support; don't ask for a higher rating.
- Never incentivize or pay for reviews. It's against Google Play policy.
- Use reviews alongside Android vitals to decide what to fix next.
Good replies start with a well-tested app. If you're still before launch, our setup guide and production access guide cover the closed test and the application.
