Should You Reset Your App Store Rating? A Decision Guide

When you release a new version you can choose to reset the overview rating ("Reset rating when this version is released"). It applies to all storefronts at the same time, you cannot restore the previous rating, and written reviews stay. For universal apps the reset applies only to the platform version being reset, and app bundle ratings cannot be reset. Apple also says ratings influence search ranking, that search results can show the rating, and that the summary rating is specific to each territory.

1. Check each territory. The summary rating is per territory. If only one country is low, a reset still hits every country, including ones where your rating is good.
2. Find out why the rating is low. Read recent reviews. Are the complaints about a version you fixed, or about something that remains?
3. Estimate the recovery without a reset. Use the break-even below.
4. Try the cheaper levers first. Add a well-timed prompt, see how to ask for ratings, and reply to reviews that describe fixed problems so reviewers can update them.
5. Compare the cost of a reset. A reset discards the rating count that makes the app look established, and you cannot undo it.
6. Decide for a major version only. Apple ties the reset to a new release, so use it with a release that changes what the reviews were about.
7. Prepare the prompt before you reset. Ratings arrive from engaged users, so ship the prompt logic in the same version.

A hypothetical app has 4,000 ratings averaging 2.4. To reach an average of 4.0 by adding only five-star ratings, solve (4,000 x 2.4 + 5x) / (4,000 + x) = 4.0. The answer is x = 6,400 new five-star ratings. If the app gets 50 new ratings per month and every one is five stars, that takes 6,400 / 50 = 128 months. In practice not every rating is five stars, so it takes longer.

A reset starts from zero. With the same 50 ratings per month averaging 4.5, the displayed average is 4.5 once the first ratings arrive, but the count is small, and the page looks new.

The numbers are an illustration of the arithmetic, not a forecast for your app.

• The rating is mixed (for example 3.8) and recent reviews are good: new ratings will move it up.
• Only one territory is weak. Fix the localized listing or the localized review replies instead.
• You have not changed what the bad reviews were about.
• You cannot ship a rating prompt in the same release.

• A rebuild replaced the product that earned the old ratings.
• The old average is low and the app now has a very different reputation.
• You have a plan to collect ratings quickly, such as a user base that will see the prompt soon.

Ratings influence search and show in results, so a fresh start with few ratings can change how competitive you look. Tools that estimate competition from rating counts, including LocalASO's difficulty score, would also see your app as smaller. See keyword difficulty for the formula.

Read the ratings reset definition and the ratings entry, then use the prompt design in how to ask for ratings. To see how many ratings the top apps on your keywords have, check them in LocalASO; see pricing.