Since at least the iOS 11 beta, the App Store has been prioritizing old reviews from several years ago for some users. Now that the software update is publicly released, we're starting to receive more user reports about the change.

facebook app store

The first review for Facebook's app is from 2008

On my own iPhone, the first review for Facebook is from 2008, the year the App Store launched. The reviewer called it a nice app that allows him to stop using Facebook over text messaging, which is clearly a dated comment.

Similarly, the first review I can see for the Skype app is seven years old. The reviewer said he was glad the app finally has the ability to make phone calls over a 3G network, a feature added way back in May 2010.

Old reviews appeared at or near the top of the list for several regularly updated apps in my testing, including Airbnb, Dropbox, Google Maps, Instagram, Minecraft, Netflix, Twitter, Waze, WhatsApp, Yelp, and YouTube.

google app store reviews

The top reviews for Google's app are six to nine years old

It's worth noting that I live in Canada. A few MacRumors editors living in the United States checked the App Store and saw much newer reviews for the Facebook app, although they were shown a three-year-old review for the Google app.

A handful of MacRumors forum members living in the United States report seeing very old reviews, however, so there doesn't appear to be any consistency to this change. Your mileage may vary completely.

"Now I have to wade through 6-yr-old app reviews, which are worthless," said MacRumors forum member AllergyDoc, whose location is listed as Utah.

"For example Evernote, the first four reviews are older than three years old," said MacRumors forum member vahdyx, who lives in Colorado. "One of the reviews were from when Obama was a new president."

Many users are frustrated because Apple currently provides no way to sort the reviews in a different order on iOS 11.

Ideally, the App Store should be displaying reviews in reverse chronological order to ensure the newest comments are at the top. A few slightly older reviews mixed in is surely fine, but reviews from 2008 aren't particularly helpful.

Previously, reviews would only show for the latest version of an app, but that is currently not the case on both iOS 10 and iOS 11.

It's quite possible that this is simply a bug, and if so, it's probably an easy fix that might not even require a software update. MacRumors has reached out to Apple for comment, and we'll update this article if we hear anything back.

Top Rated Comments

whyamihere Avatar
98 months ago
I appreciate the consistency. Making the app store reviews as useless as its search.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
hassaan22 Avatar
98 months ago
The new App Store review sorting is so horrible. Makes reviews pretty useless when the only reviews you see are 2+ years old and are completely irrelevant to the app’s state today
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
44267547 Avatar
98 months ago
2.8 out 5 for Facebook. That sounds about right.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
simonmet Avatar
98 months ago
This is kind of funny but it also highlights deeper and more serious issues at Apple if this sort of thing can make it to released software. It’s basically just incompetence.

Those massive bold fonts and layout are even more offensive than the old reviews.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Superhappytree Avatar
98 months ago
Still finding this redesign to be so utterly terrible. It’s much harder to read reviews; I spent a minute just looking around to find the “See All” button to read all reviews which isn’t even a button, it’s just tossed to the side in blue text. Have to figure out where the size of the app is which is all the way at the bottom. Too much blinding white space everywhere. Laggy when scrolling with constant frame drops everywhere. Just terrible.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Sirious Avatar
98 months ago
9 years ago... Whoaaaa.
The nostalgic feeling is real though!

They should allow you to sort ratings/reviews by date.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro 34ths Perspective

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 10 New Features

Sunday March 23, 2025 10:00 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of March 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...
Generic iOS 18

iOS 18.4 Coming Soon With These New Features for Your iPhone

Tuesday March 25, 2025 6:45 am PDT by
Apple is expected to release iOS 18.4 to the general public as soon as next week, following more than a month of beta testing. Apple's website says some iOS 18.4 features will be released in "early April," so the update should be out as early as Tuesday, April 1. Apple this week seeded the iOS 18.4 Release Candidate, which is typically the final beta version, barring the discovery of any...
ios 19 messages app

Here's What Apple's iOS 19 Messages App Might Look Like

Tuesday March 25, 2025 11:52 am PDT by
Leaker Jon Prosser today shared a mockup of what he says the Messages app will look like in iOS 19, demoing an interface with rounded, translucent bubble-shaped navigation buttons at the top and softer, rounder corners for the keyboard and word suggestions. Jon Prosser's Messages app mockup The return button, a button for going back to the Messages list, and the FaceTime button have a deeper...
iCloud General Feature Redux

iPhone Users Who Pay for iCloud Storage Receive a New Perk

Thursday March 20, 2025 12:01 am PDT by
If you pay for iCloud storage on your iPhone, Apple has a new perk for you, at no additional cost. The new perk is the ability to create invitations in the Apple Invites app for the iPhone, which launched in the App Store last month. In the Apple Invites app, iCloud+ subscribers can create invitations for any occasion, such as birthday parties, graduations, baby showers, and more. Anyone ...
airpods max 2024 colors

Don't Buy Into Apple's Hype About AirPods Max Gaining Lossless Audio

Monday March 24, 2025 4:24 pm PDT by
Apple today announced that AirPods Max with a USB-C port will be gaining support for lossless audio and ultra-low latency audio with a firmware update next month, alongside the release of iOS 18.4, iPadOS 18.4, and macOS 15.4. For context, audio files are typically compressed to keep file sizes smaller. There are lossy compression standards like MP3 and AAC (Advanced Audio Codec), which...
Generic iOS 19 Feature Mock

Gurman: Jon Prosser's iOS 19 Mockups 'Aren't Representative' of Redesign

Tuesday March 25, 2025 4:47 pm PDT by
The iOS 19 mockup images that leaker Jon Prosser shared today are not representative of the actual iOS 19 design, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said on social media. According to Gurman, the images that are "floating around" are based on "very old builds" or "vague descriptions," and are lacking key features. Gurman says that we can "expect more from Apple in June." Gurman made the same comment ...
Apple Lumon Terminal Pro

Apple's Mac Site Features Fictional 'Lumon Terminal Pro'

Wednesday March 26, 2025 12:19 pm PDT by
Apple is going all out with promotions for the popular Severance Apple TV+ show today, and as of right now, you'll find a new "Lumon Terminal Pro" listed on Apple's Mac site. The Lumon Terminal Pro is designed to look similar to the machines that Severance employees like Mark S. and Helly R. use for macrodata refinement. The Terminal features a blue keyboard, a small display with wide...
Generic iOS 19 Feature Mock Light

iOS 19 Again Rumored to Feature visionOS-Like 'Glassy' Design

Tuesday March 25, 2025 3:25 pm PDT by
Leaker Jon Prosser today shared a "first look" at Apple's upcoming iOS 19 update, providing mockups of what different apps and features will supposedly look like. Prosser claims the mockups are based on "the real deal" version of iOS 19 that he has seen, but says he is sharing replica images in order to prevent his sources from getting into trouble. Confusingly, Prosser's video features some ...