How to Add Android In-App Review API to Improve Ratings

The Android In-App Review API uses native UI elements to prompt users to rate or review an app. Users select their rating, add an optional ... HowtoaddAndroidIn-AppReviewAPI—andimproveyourGooglePlayratingsSharethisby:JacquesFagundes|Apr1,2021Likemostpeople,oneofthemostimportantcriteriaIusewhenchoosinganapptoinstallistheappstorerating.BoththeAppleAppStoreandtheGooglePlaystoreprovidea1-to5-starratingscheme.Ifanapphashighratings,I’mmorelikelytogiveitatry.Inourexperience,moreusersproactivelygototheappstoretogivearatingwhensomethingnegativehappens.Overtime,thisskewsratingslowerandleadstonegativereviewbias.That’swhywerecommendourclientsimplementin-appreviewfeatures.Thisbestpracticeallowsappuserstoprovideratingsquicklyandeasily,withouthavingtoleavetheappandgototheappstore.Moreimportantly,wecanchoosetherighttimetoprompttheuserforarating—presumablywhentheyhavejusthadagreatexperience.Wecallthese“lovablemoments”(moreontheselater)andtheyarekeytoourphilosophyofcreatinglovableproducts.BothAppleandGooglenowofferin-appratingAPIs.AndroidappdevelopersusetheIn-AppReviewAPIinthePlayCorelibrary,andiOSappdevelopersusetheStoreReviewcontroller.Thispostprovidesstep-by-stepinstructionstoimplementtheGooglePlayIn-AppReviewAPIforAndroidapps.Wealsosharehowthishelped3MimproveitsAndroidappstoreratings.HowtheAndroidIn-AppReviewAPIworksTheAndroidIn-AppReviewAPIusesnativeUIelementstopromptuserstorateorreviewanapp.Usersselecttheirrating,addanoptionalcomment,andtap“Submit.”Allofthishappenswithouteverleavingtheapp.AndroidIn-AppReviewexample.(source:Google)HowtoimplementtheAndroidIn-AppReviewAPIHerearestep-by-stepinstructionstoaddtheGooglePlayIn-AppReviewAPItoyourAndroidapp.YoucanimplementtheAPIineitherJavaorKotlin.TheexamplesbelowareinKotlin(preferredbytheArcTouchAndroidappdevelopmentteam).Step1:Determinewhentoaskforanin-appratingAsIwroteearlier,oneofthemainadvantagesofin-appratingAPIsisthatyoucancontrolwhentoaskfortherating.Likemostthings,thebesttimetoasksomeoneforsomethingiswhenthey’remostlikelytorespondthewayyouwant.Whenitcomestoappratings,wewant5stars.Anythinglessisamiss.Thebesttimetoaskforaratingiswhentheyhavethemostpositivefeelingsaboutyourappandhavesuccessfullyexperiencedyourapp’sprimarypurpose.Ifyourappistransactional,it’swhenthey’vecompletedatransaction.Ifyourappiscontent-based,it’swhenthey’veviewedcontentthattheyenjoyed.These“lovablemoments”aretimeswhentheemotionalconnectionishigh,theuserisveryengaged,andtheycanprovidemeaningfulfeedbackabouttheapp.Everyappisdifferent.Ifyouneedhelpidentifyingthe“lovablemoments”inyourapp,pleasefeelfreetocontactus.Herearesomeotherin-appratingsbestpracticeswerecommend:Don’tinterruptauserinthemiddleofatask.Waituntilthey’vecompletedtheapp’sprimarytaskandreachedthatlovablemoment.Don’tpromptforratingstooearly.Usersneedtimetoestablishasolidconnectiontoyourappbeforetheycanprovidemeaningfulfeedback.Don’tdoittoofrequently.Sinceuserscanchoosetoskipprovidingarating,youwillwanttopromptthemagainlater.Butdon’taskagaintoosoonortoooften,sinceitfrustratesusersandcanleadtoapoorrating.Toprotectusers,GoogleaddedlimitstotheAPIthatpreventsdevelopersfrompromptingusersexcessively.PatienceandthoughtfulUXdesignwillrewardyouwithpositiveratings.We’veseenplentyofappsdevelopedbyotherappdevelopmentcompaniesthatviolateallthesebestpractices.Theypromptforaratingduringtheveryfirsttimeyouusetheappandrightinthemiddleoftryingtocompleteaprimarytask.Allthisaccomplishesisgettingevenmorepoorreviews.Step2:AddthePlayCorelibraryTosupportin-appreviews,yourappmustincludethePlayCorelibrary(1.8.0orhigher).Addthelibraryintothedependenciessectionofyourprojectmodule,build.gradle.Makesuretodeclarethemavenrepositoryintotheprojectbuild.gradlerepositoriessection.//Inyourproject'sbuild.gradlefile: repositories{ maven{url"https://maven.google.com"} } //Inyourapp'sbuild.gradlefile: dependencies{ //Version1.8.0orhigher implementation'com.google.android.play:core:1.9.1' //ForKotlinusers:addusefulextensionsthatmaketheAPIsmoreidiomatic. implementation'com.google.android.play:core-ktx:1.8.1' }Step3:PreparethereviewrequestNext,createaReviewManagerinstance,whichistheapp’sinterfacetostartanin-appreviewflow.ThisisdonethroughtheReviewManagerFactory,whichcreatesReviewManagerinstances.ItonlyrequirestheapplicationContextasaparameter.Whentheappisreadytorequestareview,usetheReviewManagerinstancetocreatearequesttask.Ifsuccessful,itwillreceivetheReviewInfonecessarytoprompttheuser:valreviewManager:ReviewManager=ReviewManagerFactory.create(context) valrequestReviewTask:Task=reviewManager.requestReviewFlow() requestReviewTask.addOnCompleteListener{request-> if(request.isSuccessful){ //RequestsucceededandaReviewInfoinstancewasreceived valreviewInfo:ReviewInfo=request.result }else{ //Requestfailed } } Step4:RequestthereviewNow,it’ssimplyamatterofusingtheReviewManagertolaunchthereviewflow.PasstheparametersforthecurrentActivityandtheReviewInfocreatedinthepreviousstep.ThiswillreturnaTasktouseasanasynchronouslistenerthatreceivesaresultwhentheflowiscomplete:vallaunchReviewTask:Task=reviewManager.launchReviewFlow(activity,reviewInfo) launchReviewTask.addOnCompleteListener{_-> //Thereviewhasfinished,continueyourappflow. }Whenthelistenerisnotified,thereviewflowiscomplete.Thisdoesn’talwaysmeanthattheusersubmittedaratingorreview.Theusermayhavedismissedthein-appratingrequest,ortheIn-AppReviewAPIcanignoretherequestifonewasrequestedrecently.Casestudy:AddingIn-AppReviewtotheFiltreteSmartAppWe’vebeenworkingwith3MformanyyearsontheirFiltrete™SmartAirFilterproducts.TheseinnovativeHVACfiltershaveanembeddedsensorthatcontinuouslymonitorsthefilterlife.TheycommunicateviaBluetoothLowEnergy(BLE)withtheSmartFiltreteappdevelopedbyArcTouch,andproactivelynotifycustomerswhentochangetheirfilterandstreamlinereorderingareplacement.SomeBluetoothconnectivityissuesonolderAndroiddevicesresultedinpoorreviewsjustaftertheapplaunch.Whiletheissueshavelongsincebeenresolved,theseearlyratingsweigheddowntheoverallAndroidappratingto3.9(comparedtotheiOSappratingof4.8).Theopportunitytoimprovethatratingandattractnewuserswasobvious.WhenGoogleintroducedtheAndroidIn-AppReviewAPIin2020,itseemedliketheperfectsolution–andweimmediatelyrecommendeditto3M.“Wewatchourratingsandreviewsclosely,astheyaresoimportanttotheoverallsuccessofanappandareadirecttietoourusers’experienceswithourapp,”saidKateSamuelson,3M’sMobileAppMarketingLead.“WiththenewIn-AppReviewsuggestedandimplementedbyArcTouch,welovehowourratingsimmediatelyimproved.Andnow,wecanusethefeaturetoengageevenmorecloselywithourusers—includinggettingmorefeedbackatdifferentpointsoftheirappusetohelpusfurtherimprovetheexperience.”ROI:HowIn-AppReviewimproved3M’sAndroidappratingsAfterintegratingtheIn-AppReviewAPI,wedidaone-weekphasedrollouttoensureeverythingwasworkingasintended.Thenwestartedtomonitortheappratingsclosely.Injustafewweeks,webegantoseetheresultsweexpected.OurgoalwastoimprovetheGooglePlayoverallratingfrom3.9to4.5.Weexceededthatandreached4.7starsineightweeks. BeforeAndroidin-appreviewAPI:3.8appratingonGooglePlay. AfterAndroidin-appreviewAPI:4.7appratingonGooglePlay.Andbyhavingasimplerreviewprocessthataskedusersatjusttherighttimeintheexperience,3Msawanincreaseinthetotalnumberofuserratingsandreviews.Forcomparison,theapphadabout1,100ratingsonGooglePlayinthepriortwoyears.JusttwomonthsafteraddingtheIn-AppReviewAPI,therewereanadditional800newratings,a70percentincrease.OurratingofGooglePlay’sIn-AppReviewAPIUsingtheGooglePlayIn-AppReviewimprovestheuserexperienceandsimplifiesthedevelopmentofcollectingin-appratings.Ofcourse,justusingthisnewAPIdoesn’tguaranteeexcellentappratings.Youneedtodeliveralovableapp—thatperfectblendofsomethingusefulandsomethingthat’sdelightfultouse.Afteryou’vedonethat,wehighlyrecommendincludingtheIn-AppReviewAPI.Infact,wegiveitfivestars.Needtoimproveyourappstoreratings?Doyourappstoreratingsneedaboost?Contactustodayforafreeconsultation.Whetheryouwanttointegratein-appratingsorredesignyouruserexperience,wecanhelp.Sincethedawnoftheappstore,ArcTouchhasworkedwithleadingbrandslike3Mtobuildlovableappsforconnecteddevicesandsmartproducts.TAGS3M,Android,AndroidApps,BestPractices,DeveloperTips,Google,IoT,Kotlin,Marketing,UI/UXDesignJacquesFagundes-JacquesFagundesisanAndroidsoftwareengineerforArcTouch.CATEGORIESAllDesignDevelopmentGrowthIndustryNewsStrategyRECENTPOSTSTop8FigmapluginsforUX/UIdesignersApril19,2022BluetoothismoreofasoftwarestandardthanahardwareoneApril5,2022BestpracticesforAlexaSkilldevelopmentMarch30,2022HowtobuildanAlexaSkillMarch22,2022SIMILARPOSTSBluetoothismoreofasoftwarestandardthanahardwareoneApril5,2022BestpracticesforAlexaSkilldevelopmentMarch30,2022HowtobuildanAlexaSkillMarch22,2022Howtochooseyourfirstprogramminglanguage(andwhyitdoesn’treallymatter)October26,2021