iOS & Google Store App Reviews
g13n Resident
The BETA version of the Second Life mobile app currently has a very low rating on Google and iOS, with just 1.5/5 stars on Android and 2.9/5 stars on iOS. Many users don’t fully understand what "BETA" means and believe that leaving a review will help fix the issues, but this only adds negative feedback that can be hard to undo later. How many of us remember to update our review after the app improves? Most don’t.
Every time you log in during the BETA phase, a pop-up message within the app could have encouraged users to submit feedback directly to feedback.secondlife.com Instead, the app’s low rating now risks discouraging new users from even trying it.
We need to clarify what BETA is, explain what an app review and rating mean, and how they affect the app’s overall reputation once a stable release is available to the public.
How many of you check app reviews before trying an app? I do, and if the rating is low, I often think, "Why bother?"
How will you fix this? Sending an email to residents asking them to revise or remove their negative reviews and instead share their concerns on the feedback.secondlife.com website would help. If not, the app’s reputation and low score will be difficult to overcome, especially for newcomers. It’s critical to act now before it gets any worse.
References:
Google Playstore (Andriod) 502 reviews: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.lindenlab.secondlife&hl=en_AU&pli=1
iOS Store (iPhones/iPads) 152 Ratings: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/second-life/id6499226173
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Shadow Siamendes
Not sure how that could be solved, although yes, if an in-app popup or info would tell to use this platform instead rating on Store would surely help.
People not understanding what "beta' is about is something hard to fix, it doesn't help either that "beta" is not in the app name but only in the description that can be easily ignored.
For instance, Early Access games on Steam per example also suffer of the same issue. People give them bad ratings and complain about "bugs" that's pretty much expected due it being in EA or beta.
Another reason for some of the low ratings of SL app is due they restricting it to paid accounts at the beginning. I see a valid reason for that (like having a small user base to test it at early stages) but it being visible publicly while being restricted resulted in complaints and low rating. It should have been "invite-only" and hidden from public (I know it's possible for Play Store at least, I have tested an app that did that), but that's late now.
g13n Resident
Shadow Siamendes 100% agree.