Your app’s rating is one of the strongest conversion factors on the App Store. A jump from 3.5 to 4.0 stars can increase downloads by over 30%. A jump from 4.0 to 4.5 can push it even higher. Yet most indie creators either never ask for reviews or ask at the worst possible moment.
The timing of your review request is the difference between a 4.8-star rating and a wall of one-star complaints.
The principle: high hype, low friction
Users are most generous with ratings when they’re feeling good about your app. That sounds obvious, but most apps ignore it completely. They ask after the user has been using the app for a week, or they trigger a random popup during a session. By then, the initial excitement is gone. The user is in utility mode, not discovery mode.
The best time to ask is right after a moment of delight — when the user just accomplished something for the first time and feels good about it.
During onboarding (yes, really)
This sounds counterintuitive. The user just got here. Why would they rate the app?
Because during onboarding, hype is at its peak. The user is actively engaged, tapping through screens, discovering features. If your onboarding includes a moment of real value — they created something, saw a personalized result, completed a first task — that’s a natural place for a review prompt.
The logic: if they don’t pay at the paywall, at least get a review from them. You either monetize the user or you get social proof from them. Nobody should leave your onboarding without giving you one of those two things.
After the first “wow” moment
Every good app has a moment where the user thinks “oh, this is cool.” In a photo editor, it’s when they see the first filter applied. In a fitness app, it’s completing the first workout. In a creative tool, it’s seeing their first creation come to life.
That moment — not five minutes later, not the next day — is when you ask. The emotional peak is short. Capture it.
The satisfaction gate
Don’t send every user straight to the App Store rating prompt. Use a pre-review screen that asks something like “How’s your experience so far?” with two options:
Positive response (“Love it!” or 4-5 stars): Trigger the official App Store review prompt via SKStoreReviewController. These users will leave good ratings.
Negative response (“Not great” or 1-3 stars): Send them to a feedback form instead. This catches complaints before they become public one-star reviews. You get the feedback, the user feels heard, and your public rating stays clean.
This isn’t manipulation — it’s routing. Happy users rate publicly. Unhappy users get a direct channel to you. Both groups get a better experience.
Apple’s rules (don’t break them)
Apple has strict guidelines for review prompts:
Three times per year. You can only call SKStoreReviewController.requestReview() three times within a 365-day period. Apple may not show the prompt every time you call it, either — the system decides.
No custom review popups. You cannot build your own “Rate us on the App Store” modal that links directly to your App Store page. You must use Apple’s API. Your pre-review satisfaction screen is fine because it doesn’t link to the store — it just decides whether to trigger Apple’s prompt.
No incentives. You cannot offer rewards, discounts, or unlocked features in exchange for a review. “Rate us and get 50 free credits” will get your app rejected.
After key milestones
If you don’t want to ask during onboarding, the second-best approach is milestone-based triggers:
- After the user completes their third session (they’re clearly engaged)
- After they’ve used the app for 7 days (they’ve formed a habit)
- After they share content from the app (they like it enough to show others)
- After they complete a meaningful achievement (finished a course, hit a streak)
The common thread: every trigger is tied to a positive action, never a neutral or negative one. Never ask after an error, a crash, a failed payment, or a long loading screen.
What to track
Review prompt acceptance rate: What percentage of users who see the prompt actually leave a review? Industry average is around 3-5% of prompted users.
Rating distribution: Are you getting mostly 4-5 stars? If your average is below 4.0 after implementing these strategies, the problem isn’t timing — it’s the app.
Satisfaction gate routing: What percentage of users go to the positive path vs. the feedback path? If most users hit the negative path, you have a product problem, not a review problem.