Until now, when a user posted a review of an application in the Play Store, the review would appear with just a first name from your Gmail account. As of today, the next time you wish to post a review of an application on the Play Store, the review that you post will be directly linked to your Google+ Profile and will show your profile picture and name.
So what can you do if you don’t have a Google+ Profile?
Unfortunately from now on, users will not have the ability to post reviews unless they have a Google+ Profile
What will happen to the reviews that i have posted previously?
The Reviews that you have posted prior to this change will still be there, although where your review would be posted using your first name, every review until now has had the name on the review changed to “A Google User”.
Overall we see both benefits and drawbacks from this change.
Benefits:
- The ability to communicate easily between the developer and the user
- Real names encourage less antisocial behaviour
Drawbacks:
- No more anonymous reviews
- Older reviews have no relationship with a user
- Google+ is now required to post a reviews
What do you think of this change? Does it make you more or less likely to review an app, or trust the reviews that have been posted? Let us know in the comments!
With app reviews now requiring Google+, I wonder just how long it will be, before these app reviews start turning up in the Google+ streams you’ve added to yours.
Count me as another who won’t be posting any more reviews of apps installed.
I actually thought this was going to be part of this rollout, so I tried doing it when they first announced it. But I do wholeheartedly agree that this is an option that Google may enable at some stage, not that I think it’s a great idea I don’t want my Google+ Stream gunked up with bad app reviews or even good app reviews, just let people +1 it if they think an app is good and leave it at that.
A very good move, and a logical one at that. I wonder what took Google so long!
Should make a marked difference in the quality of reviews, maybe actually make them semi-useful.
i believe is just dumb
Google play reviews are useless half the time anyway, it’s full of idiots posting bad reviews for the stupidest of reasons.
I will no longer post reviews. Simple. Anonymity is a prerequisite for me on the Internet, and this will be very well understood in a generation’s time. Google, of all people, should know this. What a way to crucify the advocacy of apps.
“Anonymity is a prerequisite for me on the Internet” – says the guy posting with his full name…
You sure?
Totally and utterly unacceptable. They should sack whichever bozo thought this was a good move immediately. It’s also probably illegal in the EU (give up your privacy to review, really?)
The major problem is that review numbers will drop through the floor, and that’s the primary mechanism for knowing if the app author has introduced something repulsive in an update, and therefore that you need to avoid it (hello skype).
Google needs to do more to weed out the types better suited to apple.
Less trusting of the information gathering to be honest. I can envision this backfiring. Forcing users to use all services is kind of bs. Its like putting too many prerequisites on an eco-sysyem designed and marketed as being open and for whatever reason I value anonymity more then my desire to use some services.
Its not to say or troll, because I dont, I put thought and reason to most things I do. Transparency is a good thing when it matters…but forcing services that were seperate…erhmm… maybe im reading into it too much…
I’ll not be making many reviews now, just email the developer directly.
what about kids who are to young to get a google plus account?
It’s likely they’re too young to be using Google Play too. Anyway, isn’t it linked to the google account the app was purchased with?