An apparent glitch in Apple’s App Store is reportedly causing random drops in app ratings over the past day.
According to a new report from The Apple Post, a number of developers have taken to Twitter to claim that some of their apps have seen a significant decline in their ratings, while others say their apps are missing written reviews and developer responses.
Freelance developer Mike Irving, among other developers, expressed his displeasure through Twitter.
Odd changes going on with Apple iOS #AppStore Ratings / Reviews data tonight. Glitch? Purge? New Algorithm?
— Mike Irving (@mikeirvingweb) December 16, 2018
I think Apple just purged a bunch of App Store ratings. I suddenly went from 82 ratings to 39.
My app is only 7 months old total. Not old ratings by any measure.
This is a nightmare.
— Jeff Johnson (@lapcatsoftware) December 16, 2018
In the case of dating app Bumble, the app listing shows 44,500 ratings, while the search listing shows 22,400, explains the report.
While it’s highly likely that a bug on Apple‘s side is the most likely culprit, others have suggested that it could be the result of the implementation of a new App Store algorithm, or maybe even a purge of outdated ratings and reviews. The latter is unlikely due to the fact that Apple failed to give prior notification before culling old reviews.
In related news, The US Supreme Court recently heard arguments from Apple that call into question who can bring an antitrust case against the company: app developers or App Store customers.
