Developers can now respond to app reviews directly from within the Google Play app on their Android-powered devices. The feature has been available to top app developers via the Google Play website for some time, but now it’s much easier to for them to take advantage of the feature from their smartphones and tablets.

When you download an app from Google Play, and you discover a frustrating issue that you want fixed, one of the best ways to notify the app’s developers is to highlight your issue in an app review — particularly if their contact details are easily accessible. Until recently, however, there was no way for developers to respond to those comments and acknowledge your issue.

Now that’s all changed. (Take note, Apple!) Developers can reply to reviews just like they’re replying to comments on a blog post, or in a forum. And now they can do it from directly within the Google Play app on their mobile devices for the first time.

Not only is this great for users, who will now receive acknowledgements to their feedback, but it’s also great for developers, who can quickly address negative feedback and show potential customers that they are focused on supporting their app.

It appears the feature still isn’t available to all Android developers, but Google says it’s rolling it out to additional developers all the time, so it’s only a matter of time.

• ViaTechnoBuffalo