Android developers listen up, if you have user testimonial (review) text in your Google play store descriptions, you are in risk of being pulled from the market!
In a recent announcement by Google, they reminded all developers that putting reviews in your app store description is a violation of their terms of use.
'Please do not include user testimonials in your app description. They tend to be dubious and are frequently utilized to include references to popular search terms and competitor apps in violation of the policies outlined here. Let your users speak for themselves via Play's comment review system,' reads an update to the Spam, & Placement in the Store section of Google's developer guidelines.'
I understand that what Google is trying to achieve is to make sure you aren’t just making stuff up to try and boost downloads or rankings. However, there is a fine line between making stuff up and marketing. Yes – we all understand that there is some cheeky marketing out there, but just turn on the TV - you see this sort of thing everywhere! “We are the authority”, “Number One in service”, etc.
Google wants the user review system to provide users with fair and honest feedback about your app that others can use to determine is they want to download it or not. And that’s a good thing. And I agree developers shouldn’t put false remarks or testimonials in their app store descriptions. However there needs to be a better system than just closing the door to honest developers using an age old marketing tactic.