Reviews of GDC Festival

By: Informa Tech Holdings, LLC App

List of user reviews and ratings for GDC Festival

Total ratings

3.80 (Rating count: 60)

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Review summary

Most reviews praise the app for scheduling and aiding first-timers, but the app is hindered by a clunky UI, unreliable search, and persistent privacy concerns. Users report frequent crashes or outages, heavy battery use, and forced ads. Critical missing features include per-day views, bookmarking sessions, and customizable notifications. Privacy worries include exposure of personal data and difficulty removing or controlling it. Despite some praise for accessibility, the overall sentiment highlights significant UX flaws and data security risks.

Pros

Strong scheduling and personal schedule management that helps plan talks and events.
Accessible and easy-to-use interface for first-time GDC attendees, improving orientation.
App is generally seen as helpful for navigating the festival and connecting with talks and people.
Users repeatedly rely on it for scheduling across multiple years, indicating consistent usefulness.

Cons

Clunky UI with poor navigation and nonfunctional search.
Privacy and data-security concerns: exposure of personal data and difficulty removing or controlling data.
Battery drain and forced popup ads on startup.
Occasional outages or non-functionality making the app unreliable.
Missing essential features like bookmarking sessions and per-day schedule view.

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User Reviews

Recent rating average: 2.30

All time rating average: 3.80

Upgrade to see all 22 reviews

32% (7)

Date	Author	Comment
2026-03-11	Os*****	This app is a dumpster fire, it’s impossible to search for anything, the Home Screen is a faq page with no options, and nothing works as intended. Viewing schedule kind of works so I give 2/5 Star
This app is a dumpster fire, it’s impossible to search for anything, the Home Screen is a faq page with no options, and nothing works as intended. Viewing schedule kind of works so I give 2/5 Star
2026-03-10	Jc*****	Let’s start with where are some brand graphics for attendees social media? That should be front and center, easy to use portrait graphics for attendees to drop their headshots or logos on that they can use on their socials to announce their attendance. Too many talks are over capacity, seems like they didn’t plan well enough.
Let’s start with where are some brand graphics for attendees social media? That should be front and center, easy to use portrait graphics for attendees to drop their headshots or logos on that they can use on their socials to announce their attendance. Too many talks are over capacity, seems like they didn’t plan well enough.
2026-03-02	Da*****	The app is sharing personal information to anyone you connect to with no way to prevent this since after you edit it, it then syncs with a server and reverts changes
The app is sharing personal information to anyone you connect to with no way to prevent this since after you edit it, it then syncs with a server and reverts changes
2026-02-18	pe*****	Very clunky and hard to find things. Also highly annoying that they don’t allow you to view your own schedule per-day. The only way you can view your calendar is the entire thing , and you have to scroll way,way down to look at anything later in the week
Very clunky and hard to find things. Also highly annoying that they don’t allow you to view your own schedule per-day. The only way you can view your calendar is the entire thing , and you have to scroll way,way down to look at anything later in the week
2026-02-12	SR*****	Always my go-to for scheduling which talks and events I’m going to attend! Super simple to use, navigate, and connect with every single year. Highly recommend!
Always my go-to for scheduling which talks and events I’m going to attend! Super simple to use, navigate, and connect with every single year. Highly recommend!
2026-02-06	ma*****	Month out from the conference and I can’t see the sessions make a schedule or message people.
Month out from the conference and I can’t see the sessions make a schedule or message people.
2025-03-23	Ma*****	I am so happy there is an app, finding my way around as a first time GDC attendee was significantly improved with the app. That said, I kept getting my first day of “my events” and not “latest” or even “current time” events. I understand in the “build my” why you move to the next hour, when “my events” is stuck on Tuesday though the “build my” is the easier menu to see relevant events I might want to join, easily. The SxSW app was better, and it also had issues. I realize that “when” it “where” of events is not something that is well known as early as badge purchase, letting me know though that the sessions I wanted to attend were in core, and not available on expo at the time I pre-registered, or even that there was an upgrade option until Friday was a failure in communication to customers. I was informed I could purchase individual sessions when I realized I wanted to go to core, not until Friday though did any of the orange shirts inform me I could update from expo to core. Best would be to see examples of class structures when I pre-order my badge, better would be class descriptions that are known, even if times or rooms or both are unknown. I would give the expo badge and selling me a product a 2 star, the review is of the app though, and it qualifies for 4 stars.
I am so happy there is an app, finding my way around as a first time GDC attendee was significantly improved with the app. That said, I kept getting my first day of “my events” and not “latest” or even “current time” events. I understand in the “build my” why you move to the next hour, when “my events” is stuck on Tuesday though the “build my” is the easier menu to see relevant events I might want to join, easily. The SxSW app was better, and it also had issues. I realize that “when” it “where” of events is not something that is well known as early as badge purchase, letting me know though that the sessions I wanted to attend were in core, and not available on expo at the time I pre-registered, or even that there was an upgrade option until Friday was a failure in communication to customers. I was informed I could purchase individual sessions when I realized I wanted to go to core, not until Friday though did any of the orange shirts inform me I could update from expo to core. Best would be to see examples of class structures when I pre-order my badge, better would be class descriptions that are known, even if times or rooms or both are unknown. I would give the expo badge and selling me a product a 2 star, the review is of the app though, and it qualifies for 4 stars.
2025-03-19	Cb*****	As of today completely non functional. Hopefully they will get it up & running?
As of today completely non functional. Hopefully they will get it up & running?
2025-03-18	Ga*****	poor app has nothing to do
poor app has nothing to do
2025-03-18	—(*****	^^^^^^
^^^^^^