Ransom reviews
Every so often, I get a review that isn’t really a review. It usually comes with 1 star, and a promise of more if I give them what they want.
- “If both things are fixed you get 6 stars from me ;)”
- “So please deliver German, then you get full marks.”
- “I will rewrite this review when my requests have materialised.”
They aren’t reviews. They’re ransom notes. The reviewer likes the app, sometimes even loves it, but intentionally gives 1 star until I add the feature they want. Over the years, those have included an Android version, reminders by SMS or email, a timer that counts up, lunar calendar support, among others.
Why I don’t pay the ransom
Some developers act on 1-star reviews quickly in the hope of turning them around.
My approach, though, is not to give in to them. If I add a feature just because someone held their rating to ransom, what’s to stop them, or anyone else, from doing it again for the next feature they want?
That’s not something I want to encourage.
Feedback is one factor in what I work on, but it’s never the only one.
How I decide what to build
Crashes, and bugs that cause data loss, always come first. The remaining time goes to fixing other bugs or adding new features. Features that benefit a large number of users are usually prioritised over niche ones.
But this is not entirely a numbers game. Some features don’t benefit many people right away, but they end up forming the foundation for important system features in future.
Shortcuts actions are one such example. They are powered by App Intents, which now let you create and search reminders, and start and stop timers, through Siri.
While I was building those actions, I got critical reviews from customers saying I only added useless features.
As the developer and designer behind Due, it is my job to weigh feature requests against each other. I also have to weigh them against the app’s stability, and what it really needs to continue serving users in the long run.
What works instead
I use many pieces of software too, and I get how sometimes an app is missing just the one thing you need.
It may seem like a small thing to you, but I’d avoid labelling anything as “small”. Many times we don’t understand the complexities behind a feature, or the technical limitations the developer is up against.
If you really need a feature, tell the developer the problem you’re facing. Describe your use case and why it’s important to you.
For me, once I understand the problem, my brain starts looking for a solution. That’s often more useful than telling me what you think I should do.
Then, leave the decision to the developer. After all, we aren’t paying them to make a custom app for us, so it wouldn’t be reasonable to expect them to treat our request as if we were.
A ransom review will get my attention for sure, but it won’t make me want to help. Ironically, it’s the feature requests in a 5-star review that make me want to go the extra mile.