??Top Developers?? Can Now Respond to App Reviews on Google
Source: Nathan Olivarez-Giles Email Author
Next time you praise or bemoan an Android app on Google Play, you could end up getting a response directly from the company that made it.
Google now allows developers to respond to user reviews on its Google Play storefront ― something app makers can’t do over on Apple’s App Store. But, there is a caveat: At this time, not all developers will get a chance to respond to their haters and fans on Google Play.
Only “top developers” will be granted the ability to respond to reviews of their apps, and who is and isn’t a top developer is decided by, of course, the Google Play team. That restriction, however, could change later on down the road, Google said in a statement.
“Based on feedback from users and developers, we will offer it to additional Google Play developers in the future,” Ellie Powers, a Google Play product manager, said in a statement. “Conversations are meant to be two-sided, and facilitating discussion between developers and users will ultimately yield better apps, to the benefit of everyone.”
The idea here is to give developers a platform to address complaints, offer helpful tips, and let users known when features they’ve requested in an app review have shown up. Jakob Jønck, the co-founder and product manager of Endomondo, a Google Play top developer that makes an app by the same name, said the move could end up being hugely valuable for developers.
“Up until now, if a user of our apps wanted to reach us, they had to come find us in our forum or on one of our social media pages,” Jønck told Wired. “And most users we’ve seen end up giving their feedback on an app in the same place they got the app. So the ability to have a dialogue there, with them, it’s fantastic.”
Jønck said he hopes other app storefronts take the same approach. Endomondo’s app, which allows users to share and track GPS-based fitness routines (such as running, cycling, kayaking, skating and skiing), is available on Android, Apple’s iPhone, some BlackBerry phones and Windows Phone as well.
“This gives us a bit more work to do, but this dialogue with our users is so important to what we do that it really is worth the extra work,” he said. “I would love to see this in Apple’s App Store and everywhere else.”
Developer responses will be public alongside reviews on a Google Play app listing. And, when a developer has something to say, Google will email the user who wrote the review to let them know there is a response.
“Users can then contact the developer directly if additional followup is needed or update their review,” Google said.
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