Yelp, Happy With iOS Mobile Reviews, Expands Feature To Android

After about two months of what you could call an iOS-only test, Yelp is now letting Android users write reviews directly from their mobile device, too.

Yelp didn’t allow its users to write reviews on mobile devices until launching that feature on iOS back in August. The company’s logic was that reviews written from mobile devices would be shorter and lower quality, hit-and-run style — and might even skew toward negative outbursts in the heat of the moment after a bad experience. Its mobile apps only allowed users to post brief tips, not full reviews.

But in its announcement yesterday, Yelp says the mobile reviews that iOS users have posted have been good:

For those who wondered if the ability to write reviews instantly would lead to more rants and raves in the heat of the moment, we found that star ratings for reviews written on mobile closely mirror what we see on the desktop site, with about 80% of reviews being 3, 4 and 5 stars. Consumers are clearly taking the time to write thoughtful reviews of their experiences with local businesses.

The new feature is available in Yelp’s latest Android app update in the Google Play store.