Google will tailor Play Store ratings based on location starting in November

Whether you are an Android or iOS user, there is a good chance that you will check out user reviews and ratings before deciding to download an app to your device. Hoping to make this more useful for everyone, Google is planning two optimizations to the Play Store.

Starting in November, the ratings displayed will be based on where you live. For example, if your device is registered in Japan, the first thing to do is see what other Japanese users think of the app you’re trying to download. Then, sometime early next year, Google plans to keep tweaking the Play Store ratings to better reflect the device you’re using, be it a phone, tablet, foldable, Chromebook, or smartwatch. “This gives users a better idea of ​​the experience they can expect with the device they are using,” the company says of the change.

In part, Google is doing these tweaks to help developers. It wants to avoid that ratings in one area influence the global perception of an app. This can happen in cases where a bug only affects a localized version of the software. Of course, this breakdown means that you can learn about the same errors before downloading an app.

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