It's a question every app team asks after the first unfair one-star review: can we just delete it?
Short answer: no. Neither Apple nor Google lets developers remove reviews. But both let you report reviews that break their rules, and there are effective ways to deal with unfair reviews that stay up.
Who can remove a review
- The user can edit or delete their own review at any time.
- Apple and Google remove reviews that violate their policies — sometimes automatically, sometimes after a report.
- Developers can only reply and report.
What the stores will remove
Both stores' review policies cover similar ground. Reviews are typically removed if they contain:
- spam, ads or links,
- content unrelated to the app (e.g. reviews about a different product),
- offensive, hateful or sexually explicit language,
- personal information,
- clearly fake or incentivized reviews, including coordinated campaigns.
What they won't remove: honest negative opinions, even harsh or (from your point of view) wrong ones. "This app is overpriced" stays.
How to report a review
Apple App Store: in App Store Connect, open Ratings and Reviews, find the review and choose Report a Concern. Pick the reason that fits.
Google Play: in the Google Play Console, open the review under Ratings and reviews and use the option to report or flag it as inappropriate.
Report only reviews that really break the rules. The stores don't publish response times, and not every report leads to removal.
Spotting fake reviews
Signs that reviews may be fake or coordinated:
- Many reviews within a short time, with similar wording.
- New accounts with no other reviews.
- Reviews mentioning features your app doesn't have.
- Text that praises a competitor or links elsewhere.
If it's a wave tied to an event — a price change, a news story — it's more likely review bombing than fake accounts. Both stores have systems that detect unusual review activity, so mention it in your report.
Better than deleting: replying
For honest-but-negative reviews, your developer response is the tool. A calm, helpful reply:
- often leads the user to update their review,
- shows every future visitor that you care,
- corrects wrong information for everyone reading.
See how to handle negative app reviews for a step-by-step plan.
Should you reset your rating instead?
On iOS you can reset the summary rating with a new version. Written reviews stay visible, but the average starts over. It's worth it after a release that fixed the issues behind a bad rating — not as a way to hide criticism.
Notice problems early
Abusive and fake reviews are easier to report — and honest complaints easier to fix — when you see them the day they're posted. App review monitoring sends every new review to your team. Try allstarsbot free for 7 days.
