How to deal with "rate us" boxes on mobile apps

Now you might be thinking "I'm not sure I want the whole world to be able to find out that I've used this app" or similar. So you try to cancel the "rate us" question (perhaps by tapping outside of it) and it goes away for a while---but it comes back later. You realise the developers of this thing have the nerve to keep nagging you for a rating until they get one.

The first thing to realise is that any "stars control" is deceptive. If you tap 5 stars, the application itself cannot directly put that into the reviews for you. If it could, it would be able to give itself a five-star rating without asking you at all.

Here is an example of what really happens, taken from the source code of MAPS.ME on Android. (There are forks that remove the annoyances, but it's still instructive to consider the original source: many other apps use the same idea.)

if (rating >= BuildConfig.RATING_THRESHOLD)
{
  Config.setRatingApplied(RateStoreDialogFragment.class);
  dismiss();
  Utils.openAppInMarket(getActivity(), BuildConfig.REVIEW_URL);
}

But the main point is, whatever you tap on that box does not actually publish a rating. So you can work around it by:

1. When the app asks for a rating, tap 5 stars. The app itself will then remember that you've given it a high rating, and hopefully not nag you again.
2. It will then open the Play Store to let you rate it "for real". At this point, just quit out of the Play Store if you don't really want to rate it. The app itself won't 'know' that you didn't really do it.

Is it dishonesty on my part to tell an app I will rate it 5 stars and then not actually do it? I don't think so, because:

• The exact words of the instruction printed at the top of that box (in the version of the code I looked at) are "Tap a star to rate our app." It doesn't say "Tap a star to promise us what you are going to say on the Google Play Store". Having seen the source code, I now know that this is what they meant, but it's not what they said. I can in good conscience give them a private rating, which they can, if they like, collect via their own internal anonymous feedback system (if not now, then in a future version of the app)---and my choosing to answer them privately is not the same as agreeing to give that answer in public. It's like going into the supermarket and having this conversation with the manager:

  Manager: Excuse me, may I ask, how was your shopping experience today?
  Me: It was excellent, thank you very much.
  Manager: Good. Behind me is a reporter from a national newspaper who will now take your picture and print what you just said.
  Me: Hold on, I never agreed to that....

• If some developer tries to work around this situation by writing into the license agreement that by giving them feedback you hereby undertake to repeat it on the review site, they will probably be in violation of the review site's terms and conditions and/or various countries' free speech legislation. They certainly wouldn't have my promise to abide by such a condition.

Other nags

1. Email your contacts in your name without your knowledge;
2. Use your name in advertising to your contacts without your permission;
3. Making it practically impossible to delete an account once you've opened one

mHasInvited = true;
showAppInviteDialog();
Statistics.INSTANCE.trackEvent(Statistics.EventName.FACEBOOK_INVITE_INVITED);

If they change that button to say "Share on Facebook", my position would be more awkward---but it's still possible to argue that pressing it and then declining to actually go through with the transaction on Facebook would be like the following conversation with the supermarket manager:

Manager: Excuse me, may I ask, do you want to recommend us in the newspaper?
Me: OK, tell them I like it.
Manager: Good. Behind me is the reporter who will now take your picture and all the details about your home address and occupation and...
Me: Wait, you mean you can't just tell them I like it without all those details? In that case I have to back off.

It does still mean that you can't genuinely recommend the application to others without making sure they understand how to cope with the nag screens. In the case of MAPS.ME there were other problems, e.g. a prompt encouraging users to engage in the objectionable and dangerous custom of "trick or treat" and the later removal of the option to disable general advertising that has promoted scam get-rich-quick schemes, which definitely takes it off my "safe to recommend to people" list, so I'm glad there are forks I can still recommend.