Unhelpful 1-star user reviews. This is normal?

[kolob1980]

Do you think it is possible to rate 1 or 2 star for the high price of the application or for the permissions it requires? However, the price and the required permissions are indicated on the application page and are known to the user in advance before downloading. I find such reviews useless. Google Support considers the reviews to be likely helpful and will not remove them. Let's discuss?

[ev1]

I don't see why not. A complaint about the price is still a valid complaint.

[kolob1980]

The price is known in advance. Why download then?

[ev1]

It is not about being known in advance. It's to complain that a product is overpriced. People do this all the time, go look at reddit or HN or anywhere else complaining about inflated monthly costs, expensive SaaS, lamenting how Adobe is now a subscription.

I don't know what you're selling, but one of the best ways to get a shitty price review is if you lock any features behind IAP. To prevent this, sell a 2nd version with the feature already in there _with an app purchase price_, not IAP.

For required permissions, absolutely, I would complain and let people know, especially people that are not technically inclined, if something was demanding contacts or location or the ability to scan for BTLE when they don't need it and it's purely to satisfy a tracking or advertising SDK. 1 star, disgusting abusive behaviour.

[kolob1980]

The question is different. Are these reviews informative? Are they helpful to other people?

[ev1]

They are helpful to me: these reviews tell me when a free app might be hiding payments behind IAP (Android's store does not list every possible IAP + their cost and description, iOS does, so on Android almost every app just has a $0.99-$99.99 listing), they tell me when an app is trying to potentially steal data, contacts, or similar, they tell me that there might be a similar product that is cheaper or actually free in the same niche.

[kolob1980]

Got it. Although I do not understand how you can give an application 1 star simply for its price. I never do that.