The Apple App Store had an error that caused 20 million reviews to be removed in a week

A recent bug in Apple's App Store has made many developers panic, as it seems to have wiped out 10 million user reviews in the US and more than 20 million globally.

New York-based app analytics firm Appfigures discovered the bug, and it affected apps from big companies like Google, Microsoft, Nike, and Disney. However, smaller developers are also more or less affected.

According to Appfigures, more than 300 applications from 200 different developers are "stuck". Approximately 22 million reviews from users have "wings without flying" in just 2 days!

" On average, the ranking of applications is reduced by 50% in the affected countries" – Appfigures said.

Some applications are more heavily affected than others. Take Hulu as an example. This video streaming application lost 95% of the ratings in the US, while Dropbox lost about 85%.

Why are ratings important?

Ratings can affect users' ability to access apps in Apple's App Store – higher accessibility can lead to more downloads, and vice versa. Of course, the removal of a rating can have a two-sided effect. For example, if most of the ratings removed for an app are negative or get 1 or 2 stars, the app's reputation will increase; but the damage will be heavier if the deleted reviews are mostly positive, because the application will be less visible in search results, resulting in fewer downloads.

While the affected apps from big companies – such as Starbucks, Amazon Prime Video, and Walgreens – will certainly be affected, smaller developers negatively impacted by the bug may not be happy either. OK.

According to many developers, the error this time probably comes from Apple seeking to "purge" fake reviews on the App Store, and they themselves firmly assert that they have never encouraged and spent money. to buy those virtual reviews or ratings.

Apple later confirmed this error and is in the process of restoring the ratings to all affected apps.

Reference: DigitalTrends