Package Ratings: How They Work

This page explains who can rate packages on SimAtlas, how we check that ratings come from people who actually used the package, how ratings are reviewed before they are published, how the average score is calculated, and how you can report a rating. It is part of our Terms of Use. How we handle the personal data involved is described in our Privacy Policy.

Current status: we are collecting ratings in the SimAtlas app and reviewing them. They are not shown publicly yet. When we start showing them, the rules on this page apply.

1. Who can rate a package

Ratings can only be submitted in the SimAtlas desktop app, never on the website. To rate a package, all of the following must be true when you first submit your rating:

• you are signed in to the SimAtlas app with a SimAtlas account;
• you have access to the package at that moment, through a SimAtlas subscription, complimentary access granted by us, or because the package is free;
• you have started Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 or 2024 at least once with the package enabled through the SimAtlas app;
• you are not a member of the developer account that publishes the package.

Each account can rate each package once. You can change or delete your rating at any time, also after your access to the package has ended.

2. How we check that ratings come from real users

When you submit a rating, our servers check the conditions above themselves. They do not rely on what the app says about your access. In detail:

• Access is checked against your subscription, complimentary access and the list of free packages in our own systems.
• Use is checked against the list of enabled packages that the SimAtlas app sends us each time you start the simulator. We accept such a list only from an app session that belongs to your account, and only for packages you actually have access to.
• Developer accounts are checked against our records of which accounts belong to which developer.
• We limit how many ratings an account can submit or change per day.

Please note the limits of this check: we can confirm that the package was enabled in the simulator through the SimAtlas app, but not how long or how intensively someone used it. The information about simulator starts is reported by the app on the user's computer.

We do not pay for ratings and do not offer anything in return for them. We do not ask developers to rate their own packages and developers cannot submit, change, approve or remove ratings.

3. The technical issues question

Before you rate, the app asks whether you had technical issues with the package. A package that does not load or crashes is often not the package's fault: it can be caused by a conflict with another add-on, a simulator setting, or SimAtlas itself. If you answer yes, you can send us an issue report so we can investigate. You can still submit a rating afterwards.

Ratings where the user answered that they had technical issues are published under the same rules as all other ratings and are marked "Technical issues reported". They are not included in the average score. Next to the average we show how many ratings reported technical issues, so that this information is never hidden.

4. How ratings are reviewed

Every rating is reviewed by a SimAtlas team member before it is published, and again after every change. Ratings with stars only are reviewed too. We do not use automated decisions to publish or remove ratings.

We apply the same rules to every rating, whether it is positive or negative. We do not publish, hide or order ratings depending on whether they are favourable to a package, its developer or SimAtlas. We only decline to publish, or remove, a rating or comment if it:

• is unlawful, for example defamatory, discriminatory, threatening or infringing someone's rights;
• contains offensive, abusive or hateful language, or spam or advertising;
• contains personal information about you or another person, such as names, email addresses or phone numbers;
• is clearly not about the package, for example only about pricing, SimAtlas in general or another product;
• was submitted in breach of these rules, for example by someone acting for the developer or in exchange for a benefit.

We do not edit the wording of comments. If we decline to publish or remove your rating or comment, we tell you by email why, which rule applies, and how you can ask us to reconsider.

5. What is shown and how the score is calculated

• Ratings are shown without your name, with the simulator you used the package in and the month of the rating, for example "SimAtlas user · MSFS 2024 · November 2026".
• The average score is the simple average of all published ratings without reported technical issues, with no weighting. The number of ratings it is based on is shown next to it.
• All ratings of a package count, no matter when they were made or which package version they were made for. The rating shows the simulator it was used in.
• If a package has no published ratings without reported technical issues, no score is shown.
• Published ratings are listed newest first. The order is the same for every package.

6. What developers see

The developer of a package can see the ratings, comments and technical issue categories submitted for their packages, before and after publication, together with the app version, simulator and package version. Developers do not see who submitted a rating. In what developers see, email addresses and links in comments are hidden. Developers have no influence on whether a rating is published.

7. Reporting a rating

If you believe a published rating or comment is unlawful or breaks these rules, please report it with the "Report" link next to the rating or by email to support@simatlas.net. Please tell us which rating you mean (package and date), why you believe it is unlawful or breaks these rules, your name and email address (unless your report concerns certain serious offences where this is not required), and confirm that your report is accurate and made in good faith.

We confirm that we received your report, review it carefully and objectively, and tell you what we decided and why. If we remove or restrict a rating because of your report, we also inform the person who submitted it.

8. Your rating, your choice

You can edit or delete your rating at any time in the SimAtlas app. An edited rating is reviewed again before the new version is shown. A deleted rating is removed from our website and app. If you disagree with one of our decisions about your rating, contact us at support@simatlas.net. Your rights under applicable law, including going to court, are not affected.