Google to revamp Play Store app ratings

Soon, Play Store users on phones will see app ratings based on the average of submissions from only the country they are registered.

San Francisco: Google is planning to improve Play Store ratings by filtering reviews and ratings based on where users are.

Soon, Play Store users on phones will see app ratings based on the average of submissions from only the country they are registered.

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“We have heard from both Play Store users and developers that ratings and reviews could be more helpful,” the company said in a statement late on Monday.

“This is especially true when ratings from one area unfairly impact another — like when a bug that only impacted a single country negatively affects the app’s rating everywhere; or when positive improvements in a tablet experience are overlooked because of the number of users on phones,” Google added.

From November 2021, users on phones will start to see ratings specific to their registered country.

Early in 2022, users on other form-factors such as tablets, Chromebooks, and wearables will start to see ratings specific to the device that they are on.

Ratings would help people decide which apps to download and they are taken into consideration for featuring and placement on Play Store, the company said.

“But because the app experience can vary depending on the user’s region and device type, aggregate ratings don’t always tell the whole story,” it added.

Starting in November, Google is going to change the ratings that individual users see based on where they are registered, and later in the year what device they are using.