Guidelines for Reviewers

When to write a review

You can write a review if you've had a recent, genuine experience with a business.

You should not write a review if a company has offered you an incentive to do so. Incentives include things like discounts, monetary rewards, loyalty points, gifts, coupons and referral bonuses. These undermine the integrity of reviews. If you receive an incentive, you can report it to us here.

Reviews are your chance to share your experiences with others and give feedback to companies. Size doesn't matter here, we think all experiences big and small are worth reviewing - whether it's a phone call, an online order, a visit to your local store or otherwise using a company's products or service.

Just keep it fresh by writing about your experience that happened in the past 12 months. When you share your recent experiences, other readers get a feel for how a company is operating now. And companies get valuable up-to-date feedback. Learn more about who can write a review and when.

Don't write fake or biased reviews

Don't make up an experience or write a review for someone else - leave it to them to write their own review. And if you're closely associated with, work for, or are in competition with a particular company, you shouldn't review it.

Receiving an incentive to write, change or delete a review is a big no-no.

Keep proof of your experience

Hold onto documentation that shows you've had an experience with the company (for example, a receipt, order confirmation, screenshot of your chat with online customer service) because you may be asked to verify your experience.

Don't write intentionally defamatory reviews

We're required to take down words and statements that unjustly cause significant damage to people's reputations or serious financial loss to a business.

The most powerful reviews explain what took place and leave it to readers to draw their own conclusions.

We don't get involved in disputes about what actually went down between a reviewer and a business. Approved Reviews is a consumer review platform, not a regulatory authority or a court of law.

No promotions

Keep your reviews relevant - don't include any promotional references, marketing material or links. This isn't the place to sell stuff, offer discount codes, form action groups or meet other like-minded singles in your area.

Keep private information private

Your reviews are public. That's why it's not a good idea to include your own sensitive or personal information, and it's never OK to include someone else's. We're talking names, phone numbers, addresses, email addresses, and anything else that could be used to track, identify, contact or impersonate someone. We want the privacy and safety of yourself and others to be respected and protected.

The final say

These guidelines are just that: guiding principles. Please understand that we have the final say with regard to the interpretation and application of these guidelines, and we can update them at any time. If you'd like more detailed information about how we work, please contact us.