Trustpilot's guidelines for businesses answer the most common question directly: a business can't have a review removed because it's negative or feels unfair. It has to break Trustpilot's guidelines, and Trustpilot decides that, not the business.
What you can flag
- Harmful or illegal content
Hate speech, threats, obscene content or defamation. Trustpilot is clear that opinions aren't defamation.
- Personal information
Someone's name, phone number, email address or photos, unless that information is already public on a profile or website, or the reviewer shared their own.
- Advertising or promotion
Links to other businesses, promo codes, scams or spam.
- Not based on a genuine experience
Reviews that don't reflect a real interaction. You can provide evidence, for example that the review describes a product you don't sell.
- Wrong business
A review that clearly refers to a different company.
How flagging works
Flag the review from your Trustpilot Business account, or contact Trustpilot directly; you don't need to have claimed your profile. Trustpilot opens a case and investigates. Most flagged reviews stay visible while that happens; reviews flagged as harmful or illegal are hidden during the review.
If Trustpilot needs the reviewer to change the review or prove their experience, it asks them to act within three days. It may also ask you for documentation. You're notified of the outcome, and if you disagree you can reply to the decision email and then appeal through the link it contains.
What gets businesses into trouble
- Incentives
Offering discounts, refunds, prize draws or freebies for reviews or for editing one.
- Selective inviting
Inviting only happy customers, or routing people to different paths depending on their answer.
- Pressure
Asking for only positive reviews, or pushing reviewers to edit or delete what they wrote.
- Fake reviews
Writing them, or encouraging people with a special relationship to the business to post them.
- Misusing the flag tool
Flagging too quickly, for the wrong reason, or only ever flagging negative reviews.
What to do with a genuine negative review
Reply publicly, calmly and briefly, and take the conversation offline. A thoughtful reply under a fair complaint often does more for the next reader than the review's removal would, and Trustpilot lets reviewers update their review if the issue is resolved.
If a Trustpilot review needs a closer look:
We check each review against Trustpilot's published categories before anything is flagged, and prepare the evidence, so the case is built on what Trustpilot will actually consider.