Hey all - I recently launched an app, Tricorder. I put a “Rate this” button at the bottom. In the first day, about 10% of the users left a one-star review stating that it was a “scam” that “takes over your phone with ads.” In actuality, about 30% of the users see a 15-30sec video ad at launch. Apparently some people resent this, passionately (though I imagine they’re happy to pay $50/mo for cable and STILL see ads during their shows). Soooo…it seems unhappy users are way more motivated to leave reviews than happy ones. My active installs percentage is almost exactly the same across all apps (40-45%), so I can assume this app isn’t fundamentally awful. My well-intentioned button to give users easy access to the review page totally backfired.
As a result, I’d recommend giving users a rate link only after they’ve installed the app and used it a few times. I’d stress that this doesn’t feel manipulative to me, it’s just evening the playing field against the human impulse to complain about things (even free things). I’ll let you know if the rating goes back up as a result.