Trustpilot's flagging misuse rules

The four patterns, in Trustpilot's words

Trustpilot's Action We Take policy lists these examples of businesses misusing the flagging tool:

1. Flagging negative reviews that do not breach the guidelines, in an effort to get them removed from the profile.
2. "Flagging the same review over and over again to try and get it removed."
3. "Flagging content only when it appears in negative reviews", for example reporting negative but not positive reviews that contain employee information.
4. "Flagging reviews in bulk over a short period", which Trustpilot says implies the content is being targeted for its sentiment and not checked for real violations.

Its Guidelines for Businesses add a general description. Misuse is flagging reviews too quickly or for the wrong reasons, or in a way that shows you are not properly considering how they breach the guidelines. The same document says to flag 5-star reviews for the same reasons you flag 1-star reviews.

What each pattern looks like in practice

How Trustpilot detects it

Trustpilot says it uses automated technology that scans the platform for abuse of the flagging function, and that it investigates every report of misuse sent through its whistleblower function. Reviewers whose reviews were flagged are one source of those reports. Competitors are another.

Trustpilot also changed how flags are assessed. Its Trust Report 2025 says that in 2024 it reduced the burden on consumers to prove a review is real. It made the change after feedback that some businesses were abusing the reporting tools to suppress negative feedback. Weak flags are now more likely to fail, and failed flags are counted.

The enforcement ladder

Source: Action We Take. Trustpilot says it may go straight to any step when misuse is serious. In 2024 it issued 19 thousand warnings and 5 thousand cease-and-desist letters, and had 9 thousand Consumer Warnings active.

A Consumer Warning usually lasts 6 months. Our Consumer Warning guide covers what it does to a profile and how recovery works.

Your record is public

Trustpilot's Transparent Flagging feature puts 12 months of your flagging on your public Company activity page:

• how often you flagged
• the percentage of invalid cases
• the star ratings of the reviews you flagged
• how many flagged reviews stayed online and how many were removed

A buyer comparing you with a competitor can read it. So can a journalist or a regulator.

The regulator's view of the same pattern

In its case against the telehealth company NextMed, the FTC said the company "suppressed negative reviews on Trustpilot by selectively challenging critical reviews". Source: FTC announcement. That is pattern 3 in Trustpilot's list, described by a federal agency. Our guide to the FTC Consumer Review Rule explains what the rule covers, and the GLP-1 page sets the alleged conduct next to the compliant alternative.

How to flag without breaking the rules

1. Start from the rule. Pick one of the five flagging reasons, then look for reviews that fit it.
2. Highlight the exact words. Trustpilot assesses what you highlight, for the reason you chose.
3. Do the required first step. Request information before a genuine experience flag. An edit request before a personal information or different business flag.
4. Flag across star ratings. Same breach, same action.
5. Pace it. A few flags a week.
6. Accept decisions. Appeal once if you have new facts. Do not re-flag.
7. Keep a log. Rule, words, date, outcome. The flag evidence checklist covers the fairness and pace checks too. Our guide on documenting a fake review has a format.
8. Check your vendor. Anyone flagging from your account is building your record. See how to spot a removal scam.

This is how we run every project. The main Trustpilot review removal page describes the process, and the free audit shows which of your reviews can be flagged within these rules.

We do this work for clients through our Trustpilot review removal service, and the price per removed review is published.