How App Store Ratings Work: Averages, Resets and Display

Quick answer: Every App Store product page shows a summary rating from one to five stars, calculated separately for each country or region. You can reset that summary when you release a new version, and the reset applies to all countries at once while written reviews stay visible. Google Play works differently: the rating people see is weighted toward recent ratings and can't be reset.

People can rate any app from one to five stars. On iOS, macOS and visionOS they can also write a review with a title and text; on tvOS they can only rate. Individual ratings feed your app's summary rating, which appears in search results and at the top of your product page.

The key facts Apple documents:

• One summary per storefront. Your product page shows a single overview rating for each country or region of the App Store. A rating is tied to the location where the customer originally bought or downloaded the app, so your rating in Germany can differ from your rating in the United States.
• Latest rating wins. When someone edits their rating or review, the most recent version replaces the old one. Each person counts once.
• Ratings come from two places. People can rate on your product page at any time, or in the system prompt your app requests through StoreKit.
• No public formula. Apple calls it a summary of individual ratings but doesn't publish a weighting formula, so treat any claim about "how Apple weights recent ratings" with caution.

A new app often shows no stars at first, and after a reset the product page displays a message that the rating was recently reset until enough people have rated the new version. Apple doesn't publish how many ratings are needed.

Review summaries

Apple now shows an automatically generated summary of reviews on product pages for devices running iOS 18.4 or later, created with large language models when enough reviews are available. Apple describes it as a phased rollout that began in the United States and has expanded to several more English-language storefronts. You can't edit the summary, so the only way to improve it is to fix what reviewers complain about.

The two words get used interchangeably, but they behave differently:

That last row matters for your product page. A thousand silent five-star ratings lift your average, but written reviews shape what new visitors read and what the generated summary says. Replying to them helps; see how to respond to app reviews.

Resetting gives a new version a clean slate, which helps when an old release earned bad ratings for problems you've since fixed. The cost is that your page shows fewer ratings for a while, and Apple's Human Interface Guidelines warn that fewer ratings can discourage some people from downloading. Apple recommends using the feature sparingly.

How to reset, per App Store Connect Help:

1. In App Store Connect, open your app and select the version you're about to submit.
2. In the Reset Overview Rating section, select "Reset rating when this version is released."
3. Click Save, then submit the version for review.
4. The summary rating resets when the version is released.

Things to know before you tick that box:

• You need the Admin or App Manager role.
• The reset affects all countries and regions at once; you can't reset one storefront.
• Once the version is released, you can't restore the previous rating.
• Written reviews stay visible.
• For universal apps, the reset applies only to the platform version you reset.

If you reset, ship the version with a well-timed rating prompt so the new summary fills up quickly. The iOS in-app review prompt guide covers timing and limits.

Google Play also uses a one-to-five-star scale, but the rules around it are different:

Play Console shows both the rating users see and your lifetime average, so don't panic if the two numbers differ. In 2021 Google also announced that the rating people see would become specific to their registered country and later to their device type, such as phone, tablet or Chromebook.

Because recent ratings carry more weight on Play, a single bad release can pull your rating down quickly, and a good release can lift it without a reset. The Google Play In-App Review API guide explains how to ask without breaking Google's rules.

There's no shortcut that survives store policy. Apple's guidelines forbid manipulating reviews, and Google Play prohibits incentivized ratings, forced pop-ups and fake reviews. What works:

1. Fix the top complaint first. Sort reviews by rating and read the newest one- and two-star ones. One recurring bug often explains most of them.
2. Ask happy users at the right moment. Use the system prompt right after a success, not at launch.
3. Give unhappy users an exit. A visible "Contact support" option catches problems before they become reviews.
4. Reply to critical reviews. Reviewers are notified on both stores and can update their rating.
5. Release regularly. On Google Play, recent ratings count more; on the App Store, a new version is a natural moment to prompt again within Apple's limits and, if needed, reset.

For the wider playbook, read how to get more app reviews.

Your star rating sits next to your icon and first screenshots in search results, so it's part of the first impression. Apple doesn't publish search ranking weights, so be skeptical of anyone claiming a precise effect of ratings on rank; how App Store search ranking works covers what Apple does document. The conversion effect is easier to see: a visible, healthy rating reassures people before they tap.

You can also use ratings in your creative, as long as they're true and current. A laurel badge with your real average or a short, real review quote works well in the last screenshot. Read social proof in App Store screenshots before you add one.