No, developers can't delete your app review

Someone brought this up in our comments recently, and it's worth a quick mention here. As far as we know, there's no way for developers to delete your review of their app in Google Play. They can reply to your review, but not delete your review. And that makes sense for any number of reasons.

Developers do get a little extra information when you leave a review, however. And that's a good thing for when it comes to troubleshooting. In particular they'll receive:

  • Application version code: That's a separate, internal versioning system that you don't actually see in the app listing. (For instance the Android Central app is currently on version 50.)
  • Version name: This is the one you're more used to and see listed in Google Play. Currently we're on v2.3.7.
  • Device: Devs get the general model — "Nexus 6" — plus its individual codename, such as "shamu." As of the time of this writing there are more than 11,500 individual devices supported in Google Play. The Android Central app supports more than 9,700.
  • OS: The version of Android you're running. Android 5.1.
  • Screen density (dpi): In dots per inch, can help with troubleshooting and knowing which platform you're on.
  • Manufacturer: Samsung. Google. Whomever.
  • Native platform: This saves the dev from more guesswork. x86, armeabi-v7a, armeabi, etc.
  • OpenGL ES version: Again, helps with troubleshooting.
  • Device type: Phone? Tablet? Animal? Vegetable? Mineral?
  • Screen size: It's resolution, not size, but you get the idea.
  • Device language: English, Spanish, whatever. More info.

And here's what it looks like in the developer console.

That's it. A little bit of useful information when responding to reviews and troubleshooting problems. But nowhere is there a way to delete reviews.

Phil Nickinson