Trustpilot reviews: replying, inviting customers and flagging, by the rules

Trustpilot is not Google

Many businesses, especially those selling online, are rated on Trustpilot as much as on Google. The principles are similar, but Trustpilot spells them out in more detail in its guidelines for businesses, whose version 7.2 dates from June 2026¹.

Replying to reviews

Trustpilot encourages businesses to reply: it's a chance to answer questions, resolve issues, give thanks and build trust with your customers¹. Two conditions: stay polite and professional, and never include personal information, threats or aggressive language, otherwise Trustpilot removes the reply¹.

Faced with a review you disagree with but that follows the rules, Trustpilot specifically recommends replying to give your side of the story: readers will decide how much weight to give the review¹.

Inviting customers to leave a review

Trustpilot encourages invitations, provided they are fair, neutral and come with no incentive¹.

What is allowed

• inviting people who genuinely dealt with you, with one invitation per experience;
• inviting everyone in the same way, at the same point in the journey, whether the experience was good or bad;
• giving customers time to use the product or service before asking for their opinion;
• sending automated or manual invitations, links and QR codes included, as long as collection stays fair.

What is prohibited

Trustpilot's guidelines prohibit in particular¹:

• filtering customers: inviting only those you know are satisfied, or steering happy customers to a review and unhappy ones to direct contact;
• offering an incentive: discount, promo code, prize draw entry, refund, freebie;
• suggesting a rating: "If you like us, please leave us a 5-star review" is given as an example;
• inviting your relatives, employees or shareholders;
• pressuring anyone to write, edit or delete a review.

Flagging a review

Not liking a rating, or disputing a negative review, is not a valid reason for flagging: Trustpilot doesn't remove a review because a business thinks it is unfair or critical¹. Valid reasons include harmful or illegal content, personal information, advertising, and reviews not based on a genuine experience¹.

During the investigation, the review stays online, unless it is flagged as harmful or illegal. If Trustpilot needs the reviewer to edit it or provide documentation, it gives them three days to do so¹.

Trustpilot also watches the flags themselves: it asks businesses to flag 5-star reviews for the same reasons as 1-star reviews, and doesn't tolerate misuse of flagging¹. Misusing the platform can earn a business a warning displayed on its profile¹.

Who owns a review?

Its author: a review belongs to the person who wrote it, who can edit or delete it at any time¹. A good reply remains your best way to influence what happens next.

ReplyTop and Trustpilot

From the Starter plan, the ReplyTop Chrome extension drafts your replies directly on your Trustpilot review page, and you publish them in one click. Same method as on Google: a detail picked up from the review, a professional tone, no ready-made phrases.