Trustpilot guideline: advertising or promotional content
Some reviews are adverts. They push a rival's discount code, drop an affiliate link or sell something unrelated. Trustpilot's advertising rule covers them, along with spam, reviews about the news and medicinal product claims. The evidence is the text. We remove these reviews for health brands, and you pay per removal.
Published · Updated . Reviewed against Trustpilot’s guidelines on
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Dana R.
2 weeks ago on Trustpilot
Overpriced. I get the same thing for half the price, message me and I will send you my referral link.
The review promotes another seller and includes a call to action. Trustpilot lists promotion of another business and calls to action as removable content.
Marcus T.
3 weeks ago on Trustpilot
Honestly the other big brand worked better for me and cost less.
A comparison. Trustpilot does not remove a review just because it mentions another business or compares you with a competitor.
Example. Reviews written by us. Not real reviews.
Short answer
Trustpilot can remove a review that promotes another business or product. The rule covers links, promo codes and calls to action. It also covers scams, spam and misinformation such as medicinal product claims. Reviews written solely about a topic in the news, with no genuine experience, fall under the same reason. A review that only mentions or compares a competitor stays online. There is no required first step: highlight the promotional content and submit. The rule applies to 5-star reviews in the same way.
Key facts
Trustpilot can remove a review that promotes another business or product unrelated to the reviewer's experience. That includes links, promotional codes and calls to action.
Source: For which reasons can businesses flag service reviews?, Trustpilot Help Center
The same reason covers reviews that purely advertise a political, religious or ethical view, including reviews written solely about topics trending in the news or on social media.
Source: For which reasons can businesses flag service reviews?, Trustpilot Help Center
It also covers scams, offers of incentives for writing reviews, spam, and misinformation including medicinal product claims and AI-generated content.
Source: For which reasons can businesses flag service reviews?, Trustpilot Help Center
Trustpilot will not remove a review just because it mentions another business or compares the business with a competitor.
Source: For which reasons can businesses flag service reviews?, Trustpilot Help Center
An advertising or promotional flag has no required first step.
Source: How to flag service reviews from your business account, Trustpilot Help Center
This rule in 27 seconds
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The rule, in Trustpilot's words
Trustpilot's flagging reasons say it can remove a review that:
Promotes another business or product which isn't related to the reviewer's experience, including unauthorised advertisements, links to another business, promotional codes and calls to action.
Is purely advertising a political, religious or ethical view including reviews written solely about topics that are trending in the news or on social media, rather than feedback on a genuine experience.
Promotes scams, including financial scams like "get rich quick" schemes, offers incentives for writing reviews and clickbait content.
Promotes spam, including gibberish like only random numbers and letters.
Promotes misinformation or impersonation, including rumors confirmed by the authorities as false, medicinal product claims, and AI-generated content.
What this rule does not cover
"We won't remove a review just because it mentions another business or compares your business to a competitor."
A customer who says a rival is cheaper, better or faster is giving an opinion. It stays.
Evidence that supports a flag
- The promotional words, highlighted. The code, the link, "DM me", "link in bio". Trustpilot assesses what you highlight.
- Nothing else. This is the one reason where your records add nothing.
- A search across every star rating. The same codes appear in 5-star reviews, often from a brand's own affiliates.
Examples
These examples are ours. They are written to show the rule and are not real reviews.
| Review text | Outcome under this rule | Why |
|---|---|---|
| "Use code HEALTH20 at the other site instead" | Can be flagged | A promotional code and a call to action for another business |
| "Love it! My code SARAH10 gets you 10% off" | Can be flagged | A promotional code, in a 5-star review |
| "Make $500 a day from home, message me" | Can be flagged | A scam and spam |
| "Saw this company on the news. Disgusting." | Can be flagged | Written about a news topic, with no experience described |
| "Brand X is cheaper and tastes better" | Stays online | A comparison, which Trustpilot says it will not remove |
The required first step
None. Trustpilot's flagging guide has you choose the reason, read the guideline, highlight the content and submit. The review stays visible during the assessment.
Trustpilot's automated detection also looks for promotional content, and in clear cases it takes the review offline without emailing the reviewer.
For health brands
Supplement and GLP-1 profiles see the most of these, because both markets run on affiliates and referral codes. Reviews that claim a product cured a disease fall under this reason too, and they carry a second risk if you reuse them in marketing. Our guide to promo-code and affiliate reviews covers both.
Where to go next
The main Trustpilot review removal page covers all five reasons. The qualification tool asks about this rule in its fourth question.
This is the work behind our Trustpilot review removal service. You pay per removal, and the three packs and their prices are public.
Frequently asked questions
No. Trustpilot says it will not remove a review just because it mentions another business or compares you with one. The line is promotion: a code, a link, a call to action, a scam or spam. Source: flagging reasons.
Yes, and it should be when it breaks the rule. A happy customer's review with their own referral code is promotional. Trustpilot expects the same treatment whatever the star rating.
Trustpilot lists medicinal product claims under misinformation in this reason but does not define the term further. A review that says a supplement cured a disease is the kind of text we would flag. Trustpilot decides.
Primary sources used on this page
- For which reasons can businesses flag service reviews?. Trustpilot Help CenterLast verified
- How to flag service reviews from your business account. Trustpilot Help CenterLast verified
- Trustpilot's automated detection technology. Trustpilot Help CenterLast verified