Both are opinions about your app. They do different jobs, reach different people and must not be mixed.
| Private feedback | Public store review | |
|---|---|---|
| Who sees it | The developer (and the people they share it with) | Anyone looking at the store listing |
| Purpose | Find and fix problems | Help others decide to install |
| What it influences | The next version of the app | How the listing looks to other users |
| Can you reply and follow up? | Yes, in the feedback loop | Public reply, limited |
| Detail | Steps, device, screenshots | Usually short |
| When it fits | Before and during release | After real use, by the user's own choice |
Private feedback
You ask for it, you read it first, and you act on it. It is where you learn that onboarding confuses people or that a screen breaks on one phone. Because it is private, testers can be blunt and specific. AppReviewX is built around this: structured, private feedback, one credit per feedback written.
Public store reviews
A review is written for other users. It is shaped by how the person felt after real use. You can ask users for one at a sensible moment, but the stores set rules on how.
Google Play's policy says "We prohibit any manipulation of ratings, reviews, or install counts" and "Don't offer rewards or incentives for ratings or reviews." Apple's guidelines warn against inflating rankings "with paid, incentivized, filtered, or fake feedback". Sources: Play Console Help and App Review Guidelines, retrieved 2026-10-20.
Why they must never be mixed
If testers get something in return for a store rating, the rating is no longer an honest opinion. That is manipulation in the stores' terms. So on AppReviewX:
- Feedback is private and earns credits.
- Store ratings are voluntary, unpaid and never required.
- Nothing is traded for ratings or installs.
In practice
- Get private feedback before launch.
- Fix what it finds.
- Ask real users for a rating at a good moment, without any reward.
More: Testing apps is not trading ratings, Getting your first honest store reviews.
Back to the hub: App ratings and reviews. Related: Buy app reviews: risks, policy and what to do instead, Incentivized ratings and reviews: what the policy says.
General information, not legal advice.
Start free and get private feedback first.