Review policy comparison: four platforms, eight questions
Trustpilot, Google, Yelp and Facebook, side by side on eight questions, with a source link in every cell. Filter by question or platform, or download the table as CSV. It all runs in your browser, and nothing you choose is sent anywhere.
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How do Trustpilot, Google, Yelp and Facebook review policies differ?
This review policy comparison answers eight questions for each platform, from what it removes to where you report. The biggest split is asking: Trustpilot and Google let a business ask every customer, and Yelp tells businesses not to ask at all. All three that publish a rule ban incentives. Facebook publishes least.
| Question | Trustpilot | Yelp | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What it removes | Trustpilot: Fake reviews, plus reviews that are harmful or illegal, contain personal information, advertise, are not based on a genuine experience, or concern another business. Source: Trustpilot, Guidelines for Businesses | Google: Content that breaks the Maps content policy, including fake engagement, harassment, hate speech, personal information, off-topic content and advertising. Source: Google Maps User Generated Content Policy, Prohibited and restricted content | Yelp: Reviews with a conflict of interest, that are not the reviewer's own consumer experience, or that include inappropriate material. Source: Yelp Support Center, When should I report a review? | Facebook: Recommendations that do not follow the Community Standards, and spam reviews. A star rating with no text cannot be reported. Source: Facebook Help Center, Report a Recommendation or review about a business Page on Facebook |
| Who can report a review | Trustpilot: Anyone: businesses and consumers can both flag a review. Source: Trustpilot, Guidelines for Businesses | Google: The business, from its Business Profile, and any Google Maps user, from the review's menu. Source: Google Business Profile Help, Report inappropriate reviews on your Business Profile | Yelp: Business owners, from a business account, and Yelp users who are signed in. Source: Yelp Support Center, How do I report a review? | Facebook: Not published Page checked: Facebook Help Center, Report a Recommendation or review about a business Page on Facebook |
| Can a business ask for reviews? | Trustpilot: Yes. Businesses are encouraged to invite customers, but must invite everyone the same way. Source: Trustpilot, Guidelines for Businesses | Google: Yes. Google tells businesses to ask customers to review them through a Google link or QR code. Source: Google Business Profile Help, Tips to get more reviews | Yelp: No. Yelp tells businesses not to ask anyone for reviews. Source: Yelp Support Center, Don't Ask for Reviews | Facebook: Not published Page checked: Facebook Help Center, Turn Recommendations on or off for your business Page |
| Are incentives allowed? | Trustpilot: No. No discounts, promo codes, prize draws, refunds, freebies or other benefit for writing or editing a review. Source: Trustpilot, Guidelines for Businesses | Google: No. Payment, discounts or free goods for posting, changing or removing a review are not allowed. Source: Google Maps User Generated Content Policy, Prohibited and restricted content | Yelp: No. No freebies, discounts or payment for reviews, or for removing them. Source: Yelp Support Center, Don't Ask for Reviews | Facebook: Not published Page checked: Facebook Help Center, How Page review count and recommendation score are determined |
| Is review gating allowed? | Trustpilot: No. Inviting only happy customers, or sending unhappy ones to contact you instead, is not allowed. Source: Trustpilot, Guidelines for Businesses | Google: No. Businesses may not discourage negative reviews or ask only happy customers for positive ones. Source: Google Maps User Generated Content Policy, Prohibited and restricted content | Yelp: No. Yelp bars asking for reviews at all, and names asking only happy customers as a cause of biased ratings. Source: Yelp Support Center, Don't Ask for Reviews | Facebook: Not published Page checked: Facebook Help Center, Turn Recommendations on or off for your business Page |
| Is there an appeal route? | Trustpilot: Yes. Anyone who got a Content Integrity decision in the past 6 months can appeal it once, from the decision email. Source: Trustpilot Help Center, How can I appeal a decision made by the Content Integrity Team? | Google: Yes. A business can make a one-time appeal, up to 10 reviews, in the Reviews Management Tool. Reviewers can appeal removals separately. Source: Google Business Profile Help, Report inappropriate reviews on your Business Profile | Yelp: Not published Page checked: Yelp Support Center, How do I report a review? | Facebook: Not published Page checked: Facebook Help Center, Report a Recommendation or review about a business Page on Facebook |
| Is a response time published? | Trustpilot: Not published Page checked: Trustpilot Help Center, What happens after businesses flag reviews? | Google: Yes: "typically takes several days". No figure is given for appeals. Source: Google Business Profile Help, Report inappropriate reviews on your Business Profile | Yelp: Yes: evaluation "may take several days", with the decision sent by email. Source: Yelp Support Center, How do I report a review? | Facebook: Not published Page checked: Facebook Help Center, Report a Recommendation or review about a business Page on Facebook |
| Where to report | Trustpilot: Business account: Manage reviews, Service reviews, Inbox, then the flag icon. Consumers use the flag icon under the review. Source: Trustpilot Help Center, How to flag service reviews from your business account | Google: Business Profile, Read reviews, Report; or the Reviews Management Tool, which also shows report status. Source: Google Business Profile Help, Report inappropriate reviews on your Business Profile | Yelp: The review's More Options menu (three dots), then Report Review, on biz.yelp.com, the Yelp for Business app, yelp.com or the Yelp app. Source: Yelp Support Center, How do I report a review? | Facebook: On the Page: Reviews, See all, the post's Options menu, then Report post. Source: Facebook Help Center, Report a Recommendation or review about a business Page on Facebook |
How this works
Every answer comes from the platform’s own help or policy page, read in full, most recently on 2026-09-22. Each cell links to that page, and the CSV includes the words the page uses. 8 of the 32 cells say “Not published”: the platform’s pages are silent, so we are too, and the link goes to the page we checked.
The limits: a matrix flattens. “Can a business ask for reviews?” has conditions on every platform that allows it, and the cell gives the short version. Read the source before you act. Platforms also change these pages without notice, which is why we keep a policy change log.
For the detail on the two platforms we work on, see Trustpilot’s guidelines explained and Google’s review policy explained. Yelp and Facebook are covered on other review platforms. All our free tools are on the tools page.
A free review policy comparison. It sets Trustpilot, Google, Yelp and Facebook side by side on eight questions. They cover what each removes, who can report, asking for reviews, incentives, review gating, appeals, response times and where to report. Every cell links to its source. Filter by question or platform, or download it as CSV.
Questions about the matrix
Trustpilot and Google do, as long as every customer is asked the same way. Yelp does not: its business help says don't ask for reviews at all. Facebook publishes no rule either way on the pages we checked.
Not on any platform that publishes a rule. Trustpilot bars inviting only happy customers, Google bars selectively soliciting positive reviews, and Yelp bars asking at all. The FTC side is in our gating guide.
On Trustpilot, anyone who got a Content Integrity decision in the last 6 months can appeal it once. On Google, a business gets a one-time appeal in the Reviews Management Tool. Yelp and Facebook publish no appeal route on the pages we checked.
Because its help pages on recommendations say little beyond how to report one. We only fill a cell from a platform's own page. Where the page is silent, so is the matrix.
Each source was read in full on September 22, 2026. Platforms change these pages without notice, which is why we keep a policy change log and check the Trustpilot and Google pages every day.
Primary sources used on this page
- Don't Ask for Reviews. Yelp Support CenterLast verified
- Report inappropriate reviews on your Business Profile. Google Business Profile HelpLast verified
- Prohibited and restricted content. Google Maps User Generated Content PolicyLast verified
- How can I appeal a decision made by the Content Integrity Team?. Trustpilot Help CenterLast verified
- Guidelines for Businesses. TrustpilotLast verified
- What happens after businesses flag reviews?. Trustpilot Help CenterLast verified
- How to flag service reviews from your business account. Trustpilot Help CenterLast verified
- Tips to get more reviews. Google Business Profile HelpLast verified
- When should I report a review?. Yelp Support CenterLast verified
- How do I report a review?. Yelp Support CenterLast verified
- Report a Recommendation or review about a business Page on Facebook. Facebook Help CenterLast verified
- Turn Recommendations on or off for your business Page. Facebook Help CenterLast verified
- How Page review count and recommendation score are determined. Facebook Help CenterLast verified
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