Mobile apps judged on the first session, not the App Store screenshots. Onboarding, permissions, pricing and the retention signals that decide whether an install becomes a habit.
How we review an app
We install the app on a mid-range Android phone and an older iPhone, create a fresh account and use it for a week before writing anything. We note the time it takes to reach the first useful action, what the app asks for before earning trust, and what happens when the connection drops. A polished demo is not a review.
Pricing and the paywall moment
Free trials, hard paywalls and annual discounts all change behaviour. We record the price after the trial, the refund window and the store fees that reduce what a developer actually keeps. A cheap subscription that is hard to cancel is not cheap, and we say so in the guide.
Privacy, permissions and store rules
Every permission should have a reason a user can understand. We check what the app requests, what it sends to analytics and whether the privacy label matches the behaviour. Where a claim matters, we compare it with the platform guidance from Android Developers and Apple Developer.
