In a move that’s been requested by developers for as long as iOS betas have existed, Apple has finally banned those running pre-release software from leaving App Store reviews.
Why is this good news, you ask? Because betas are unstable – by their very nature they are unfinished – and can lead to bugs or app crashes that often have nothing to do with the app itself. Users may become frustrated when an app crashes, but during a beta period it’s very likely to be the fault of the operating system, not the app. Allowing reviews during this time leads to a lot of inaccurate comments and unnecessarily low scores for developers.
Those with the iOS 9 beta installed will see this message if they try to leave a review
This policy change from Apple has been generally well received, and though it may irk a few beta users who wish to leave genuine feedback, it will also ensure we don’t see an undeserved increase in bad reviews. It’s great news for developers, but to a lesser extent it affects the rest of us too: reviews will be a better indicator of the quality of an app under normal circumstances.
Read more: how to upgrade to Apple’s iOS 9 beta