Super Unlimited · B2C · free VPN app
Ask for a rating only after the app has done its job
2M+ high ratings on the App Store; no before/after given
Workedaso
What they did
Rating prompt shown after value is delivered, not repeatedly or at the wrong moment; no further 'gymnastics' to farm ratings. Volume comes from multiplying a well-timed ask by a very large returning user base.
What happened
Over two million high-quality ratings, which guest says is impactful on the store page.
In their words
Sub Club by RevenueCat · How the World's #1 VPN App Reached 1 Billion Downloads – Tanuj Chatterjee, Super Unlimited“We basically ask for ratings after we've delivered value to the user”
“we don't try to do too much gymnastics with trying to get more ratings. I think they come organically, we ask for them, but we don't overdo it”
Related topics
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New tactics from the week's founder interviews, each linked to where it was said.
More from this episode
- Super Unlimited: Read your reviews and rivals' reviews, then fix what people complain aboutCredited as the main driver to #1 for 'VPN'; no single number tied to it
- Super Unlimited: Let people use the app right away: no login, one tap to connectVisits last ~30 seconds; guest credits it for organic volume and ratings
- Super Unlimited: Test modern, prettier store screenshots against your plain old onesModern designs lost 80% of tests; winners gave no meaningful lift, so old ones stayed
- Super Unlimited: Hire an SEO agency that knows your field to publish programmatic pages~1,600 app downloads a month; poor conversion; some AI-search traffic, not top 5
- Super Unlimited: Give away an unlimited free version, paid for with an ad or twoLow paid conversion, but 1M+ mostly organic downloads a day and very profitable
- Super Unlimited: Don't show any ads the first time someone opens the app
- Super Unlimited: Keep the free service running in poor and censored countries, even at a loss15M downloads in 4 days during a Turkey Instagram ban; each spike leaves a higher baseline
- Super Unlimited: Charge for no ads, faster servers, more locations and use on every deviceCompany growing and very profitable; no conversion numbers
- Super Unlimited: Show an ad for your new eSIM app to all existing VPN usersDidn't work: no travel intent; now planning timed promos before summer
- Super Unlimited: Buy search ads in Apple and Google stores only where the return holds upSpend capped by ROAS; some cannibalization of organic installs accepted
- Super Unlimited: Have the head of support report to the head of productGuest says product hears about problems right away; no numbers
- Super Unlimited: Walk into elevators with a debug build to test dropped connections
- Super Unlimited: Compare your ratings country by country and dig into the low onesGuest says it helped a lot; no numbers
- Super Unlimited: Launch a new feature in 5 countries behind a switch, then expand
- Super Unlimited: Start on the cloud, then move heavy traffic to your own rented serversMakes a free tier affordable; cloud still absorbs surges
- Super Unlimited: Launch a Windows version and promote it to your mobile usersNamed biggest win of the year; people buy on the website directly, no numbers
- RevenueCat: Build the product so free users cost almost nothing to supportLets the company keep a generous free tier; no numbers