How we moderate

This page describes how GoldStarred checks, flags, reports and removes reviews. The same process applies to every business and reviewer, whether the business is on the free plan or a paid one. Payment never buys a different outcome or a faster one.

1. Checks when a review is submitted

Every new review passes automatic checks. They look for:

• offensive language and personal data such as phone numbers or addresses;
• duplicate or copied text;
• many reviews from one network or device in a short time;
• a reviewer email address on the same domain as the business being reviewed;
• sudden bursts of reviews.

A review that passes is published. A review that looks suspicious is held as pending and goes to a person, and we email the reviewer a statement of reasons saying which kind of check held it and how to respond. Held does not mean rejected, and a check never removes a review. The checks do not look at the star rating, the sentiment or the business's plan. A moderator can approve a held review, remove it with a reason, or ask the reviewer for evidence of their experience, such as an order confirmation.

2. Businesses can reply and flag

A business may reply publicly to any review. A business may also flag a review it believes breaks our rules, and must give a reason.

• Flagging never hides a review automatically. The review stays visible while a moderator looks at it.
• The reviewer is told about the flag and can respond.
• A moderator then decides. Possible outcomes are to keep the review, remove it, or ask for more evidence.
• A review is never removed just because it is negative or the business disagrees with it.
• The one exception is content that is clearly unlawful or puts someone at risk. A moderator may take it down while they check it, tell the reviewer why, and put it back if the checks clear it.

3. Anyone can report a review

Every review has a "Report this review" option. Readers, businesses and reviewers can use it and choose a reason. Reports go to the same moderation queue. We email the person who reported a link to confirm the report, then the outcome and the reason. We do not give their email address to the reviewer or the business unless they said we may.

4. What we remove

We remove reviews that:

• are fake, as described in our fake review policy;
• are not about a genuine experience, or are about the wrong business;
• contain abuse, threats, hate speech, or unlawful content;
• reveal private information about other people;
• are spam or advertising;
• are shown to be defamatory, following our complaints and takedown process.

5. What a business can never do

A business cannot hide, delay, edit or reorder reviews, and cannot pay to do so. It cannot buy removal of a review, and it cannot ask us to place its reviews above others. Ranking is based on review data only.

6. Reviewers' control

Reviewers can edit or delete their own reviews at any time.

7. Records

We record every moderation decision, with the reason and who made it, in an audit log. We use the log to check our own work and to answer complaints.

8. Targets

We aim to look at a flagged or reported review promptly and to tell the people involved the outcome. These are targets, not guarantees, and they are the same for free and paid businesses. Complaints that a review is defamatory follow the steps and timings on our complaints and takedown page.

9. If you disagree with a decision

If we remove your review, you can appeal. Write to hello@goldstarred.com and explain why. We log your appeal as a case, tell you it is open, and a person looks at the decision again, a different person where we can. The record shows who decided before, and you are told the result and the reason. If you flagged or reported a review and disagree with our decision, write to us and a different person will look again where we can. If you still disagree, you may take the matter to the courts or, where it concerns personal data, to the Information Commissioner's Office.

10. Illegal content

If you think content on GoldStarred is illegal, report it from the review or email hello@goldstarred.com. We act on notices of illegal content and give reasons for our decisions.

GoldStarred is operated by Harber Glaves Trading Ltd, company number 16605946, registered in England and Wales.

Registered office: Unit A, 82 James Carter Road, Mildenhall, Bury St. Edmunds, England, IP28 7DE.

Contact: hello@goldstarred.com