FAQ Topics

We take verification seriously. Restaurant listings are reviewed using official business registrations, trusted online directories, publicly available records, and direct contact with venues when necessary. Our team also conducts manual checks to ensure business details such as location, operating status, and contact information are accurate. This layered approach helps ensure that the restaurants you discover on our platform are legitimate, active, and correctly represented.

Authenticity is the foundation of Restaurant Reviews. All reviews go through moderation processes that include automated detection systems and manual review when needed. We monitor unusual activity patterns, duplicate content, spam behaviour, and suspicious engagement. Our community can also report reviews that seem misleading or inappropriate. Reviews that violate our guidelines are removed, and repeat offenders may face account restrictions. We are committed to keeping the platform fair, honest, and trustworthy.

If a review is found to contain false information, personal attacks, hate speech, promotional spam, or intentional misinformation, it will be removed. Depending on the severity, the account may receive a warning, temporary suspension, or permanent removal. We aim to protect both diners and restaurants from unfair or harmful content while maintaining open, honest feedback.

No. Restaurants cannot remove reviews simply because they are negative. Honest feedback — both positive and critical — is essential to maintaining transparency. However, if a review violates our community guidelines (such as containing abuse, discrimination, or false claims), it can be reviewed and removed after investigation. Fair criticism is allowed. Abuse is not.

We actively monitor listings to prevent fraudulent or duplicate venues from appearing. Suspicious submissions are flagged for manual review before going live. If users report a listing as inaccurate or potentially fake, our team investigates promptly. Protecting diners from misleading information is a priority.

Yes. If you see content that appears inappropriate, misleading, abusive, or inaccurate, you can report it directly through the platform. Every report is reviewed by our moderation team. Community reporting plays an important role in keeping the ecosystem safe and reliable.

Your privacy and data security matter to us. We follow industry-standard security practices to protect user data, including encrypted connections and secure authentication processes. We never publicly display sensitive personal information. You remain in control of your profile and account settings at all times.

Restaurants can see your public profile name and your review content, just like other diners. They do not have access to your private account information, contact details, or sensitive data. Your privacy is protected while your voice remains heard.

Menus, opening hours, and details can change. We encourage restaurants to keep their information updated through their business dashboard. At the same time, diners can report outdated or incorrect information. Our team reviews and updates listings to maintain accuracy as quickly as possible.

Absolutely. We encourage reviews that are honest, specific, and helpful — describing dishes, service, atmosphere, and overall experience. Constructive feedback benefits the entire community and helps restaurants improve. We believe in transparency with respect.

We take every report seriously and prioritize reviews that may violate our community guidelines. Most reports are reviewed within 24-48 hours during business days. For urgent cases involving safety concerns, hate speech, or illegal content, we expedite the review process to within 4-6 hours. Once reviewed, you'll receive an email notification about the outcome. If a review is found to violate our policies, it will be removed immediately. We're committed to maintaining a safe and trustworthy platform, and your reports help us achieve that goal.

We use a sophisticated two-layer approach that combines the best of technology and human judgment. Our AI-powered system performs initial screening to flag potentially problematic content based on keywords, patterns, and behavioral signals. However, every flagged review is then examined by our trained human moderation team who understand context, cultural nuances, and the subtleties of language. This hybrid approach ensures we catch issues quickly while maintaining fairness and accuracy. Our human reviewers are specially trained to recognize fake reviews, spam, and policy violations, ensuring that legitimate reviews are never unfairly removed.

Absolutely! We believe in giving you control over your content. You can edit your review at any time by visiting your review history in your profile. Simply tap on the review you want to modify, make your changes, and save. You can also delete your review entirely if you change your mind - just tap the delete option. However, please note that if you've received helpful votes or responses from the restaurant, those interactions will be preserved for transparency. We encourage you to update your review if your experience changes, as this helps other diners make informed decisions.

Your identity and reputation matter to us. If you believe someone is impersonating you or using your name to post reviews, contact our Trust & Safety team immediately through the 'Report' function or email us directly. We'll investigate promptly by verifying account details, IP addresses, and review patterns. If impersonation is confirmed, we'll remove the fraudulent review, suspend the offending account, and may take legal action if necessary. We also recommend changing your password and enabling two-factor authentication to protect your account. Your safety and the integrity of our platform are our top priorities.

Our rating system is designed to be fair, transparent, and reflective of genuine customer experiences. Each restaurant's overall rating is calculated using a weighted average that considers multiple factors: the numerical star rating (1-5 stars), the recency of reviews (recent reviews carry slightly more weight), the number of verified visits, and the reviewer's history on our platform. We use a sophisticated algorithm that filters out suspicious patterns and ensures that one-off extreme reviews don't unfairly skew a restaurant's rating. This means a restaurant with consistently good recent reviews will have a more accurate representation than one with mixed or outdated feedback.

Yes, we do apply a recency weighting factor to ensure ratings reflect current restaurant quality. Reviews from the past 3 months carry the most weight, reviews from 3-6 months ago have moderate weight, and reviews older than 6 months have reduced weight. This approach recognizes that restaurants can improve or decline over time - a chef change, renovation, or menu update can significantly impact the dining experience. However, we never completely discount older reviews, as they provide valuable historical context. This balanced approach helps diners see both the current state and the restaurant's track record.

We respect your privacy and your right to control your data. To request account deletion, go to your Profile Settings, scroll to 'Privacy & Data', and select 'Delete My Account'. You can also email our support team directly. Once you confirm the deletion, we'll permanently remove your account, reviews, and personal information from our active systems within 30 days, in compliance with data protection regulations. Please note that some anonymized data may be retained for legal or business purposes (like preventing fraud), but it will never be associated with your identity. We'll send you a confirmation email once the process is complete.

You're protected when writing honest, fact-based reviews about your dining experience. In most jurisdictions, honest customer reviews are protected as free speech, and platforms like ours have legal protections that shield us from liability for user-generated content. However, it's important to distinguish between honest opinions (which are protected) and knowingly false statements of fact (which are not). We recommend focusing on your actual experience - the food, service, atmosphere, and overall dining experience. If you stick to facts and your genuine opinions, you're on solid legal ground. We also have clear Terms of Service that outline your rights and responsibilities as a reviewer.

We have a multi-step process to address potentially false information. First, our automated systems flag reviews with suspicious patterns or extreme claims. Then, if a restaurant disputes specific factual claims, our human review team investigates by checking against verifiable sources like business records, public information, and cross-referencing with other reviews. We distinguish between false facts (which we may remove) and negative opinions (which we protect). If we find verifiable false information, we'll work with you to correct it or remove the specific false claims while preserving your legitimate opinions. This balanced approach protects both honest reviewers and businesses.

We allow reviews that mention legal disputes as long as they focus on your actual dining experience and don't make unsubstantiated legal claims. Your review should be about the food, service, atmosphere, and overall experience - not about ongoing court cases or legal proceedings. If your review contains specific legal allegations that haven't been proven in court, we may edit or remove those portions while preserving your legitimate feedback about your experience. We encourage you to focus on what you experienced as a customer, which is most helpful to other diners.

We understand that moderation decisions can be complex, and we want to ensure fairness. If you disagree with a decision (like your review being removed or not removed), you can appeal by contacting our Trust & Safety team through the 'Appeal' option in your account settings or by replying to the decision notification email. Include as much context as possible - screenshots, additional information, or explanations. A senior moderator will review your appeal within 5-7 business days, considering all available evidence. We'll provide a detailed explanation of the final decision. While we can't guarantee every appeal will be successful, we're committed to fair and transparent processes.

Yes, we have multiple escalation paths to ensure your concerns are addressed. If the standard reporting process doesn't resolve your issue, you can escalate by: (1) Using the 'Contact Trust & Safety' option in the Help Center, (2) Emailing our dedicated escalation team at safety@restaurantreviews.com.au, or (3) Requesting a callback from our support team. For serious issues like identity theft, harassment, or safety concerns, we have a priority escalation channel that connects you directly with senior team members. We track all escalations to ensure nothing falls through the cracks, and you'll receive regular updates until your concern is fully resolved.

We prohibit content that harms our community or violates our values. Specifically banned content includes: hate speech, discrimination, or attacks based on race, religion, gender, or other protected characteristics; threats of violence or harassment; sexually explicit content; spam, fake reviews, or promotional content for other businesses; personal attacks on restaurant staff by name; false information presented as fact; reviews written by restaurant owners or employees about their own establishment; and content that violates local laws. We also remove reviews that are clearly not about the dining experience. Our goal is to maintain a respectful, helpful community where everyone feels safe sharing honest feedback.

Yes, photos are a fantastic way to enhance your review and help other diners! You can upload up to 10 photos per review, showcasing the food, ambiance, or specific aspects of your experience. All photos go through our moderation system to ensure they meet our community standards - we check for inappropriate content, verify they're relevant to the restaurant, and ensure they're not promotional material. Photos that clearly show your actual meal or experience are especially valuable and help verify the authenticity of your review. We love seeing your culinary adventures, so don't hesitate to share those beautiful food photos!

We have zero tolerance for hate speech and take immediate action when we detect it. Reviews containing hate speech, discriminatory language, or threats are removed immediately upon detection, and the account may be permanently banned. For profanity, we use a nuanced approach - mild profanity used in context (like expressing frustration about poor service) may be allowed but flagged, while excessive profanity or profanity directed at individuals is removed. Our AI system catches most violations automatically, and our human moderators review edge cases. We believe in free expression, but not at the expense of creating a hostile environment. Everyone deserves to share their experience in a respectful way.

We continuously evolve our systems to stay ahead of new threats and improve accuracy. Our AI and machine learning models are updated weekly with new patterns and behaviors we've identified. Our human moderation guidelines are reviewed and refined monthly based on trends, user feedback, and industry best practices. Major system overhauls happen quarterly, where we implement new technologies, refine algorithms, and enhance our detection capabilities. We also conduct annual security audits and work with external experts to ensure we're using the most advanced methods available. This commitment to continuous improvement means our platform gets safer and more reliable over time.

We employ a proactive, multi-layered defense strategy. Our data science team constantly analyzes patterns to identify emerging fraud tactics before they become widespread. We monitor industry trends, collaborate with other platforms to share intelligence, and use advanced machine learning that adapts to new behaviors. We also have a dedicated Threat Intelligence team that researches new attack vectors and develops countermeasures. Additionally, we maintain a bug bounty program that rewards security researchers for finding vulnerabilities. User reports are crucial too - when you report something suspicious, it helps us identify new patterns. This comprehensive approach ensures we're always one step ahead of bad actors.

Absolutely! Your feedback is invaluable in helping us improve. You can share your thoughts through multiple channels: (1) The 'Feedback on Safety' option in the Help Center, (2) Our quarterly user surveys that specifically ask about trust and safety, (3) Direct emails to our Trust & Safety team, or (4) Community forums where we discuss policy changes. We regularly review this feedback and have implemented many user-suggested improvements, such as clearer reporting options, faster response times, and more transparent moderation processes. We believe the best safety systems are built collaboratively with our community.

We have specific protocols for these situations. When a restaurant closes permanently, we mark it as 'Closed' and lock new reviews, but preserve historical reviews for reference. If a restaurant changes ownership but keeps the same name and location, we allow new reviews while maintaining the historical rating, but clearly indicate the ownership change. For restaurants that change both name and ownership, we may create a new listing while archiving the old one. Historical reviews remain visible with appropriate context, helping diners understand the restaurant's evolution over time and make informed decisions.

New restaurants get special attention to ensure fair and accurate representation. We verify that the restaurant actually exists through business licenses, public records, and sometimes site visits. For the first 30 days, we closely monitor all reviews for authenticity - checking for patterns that might indicate fake reviews (like multiple reviews from new accounts, similar language, or suspicious timing). We may also reach out to reviewers to verify their visit. New restaurants start with a 'New' badge, and we encourage early reviewers to be especially detailed since there's less historical context. This careful approach ensures new restaurants get a fair chance while maintaining our platform's integrity.

We use multiple verification methods to ensure review authenticity. Look for indicators like: verified visit badges (showing the reviewer actually dined there), reviewer profiles with a history of reviews, photos attached to reviews, and detailed descriptions that match the restaurant experience. Our system also flags suspicious patterns - if a review seems off, it may be hidden or removed. We encourage you to read multiple reviews to get a balanced perspective, and pay attention to reviews that include photos and specific details about the dining experience. If you suspect a fake review, please report it so we can investigate.

When a restaurant responds to your review, you'll receive a notification. Restaurant responses are visible to all users and help create transparency. Restaurants may thank you for positive feedback, address concerns you raised, clarify misunderstandings, or share updates about improvements. You can choose to respond to their response if you'd like to continue the conversation. This dialogue benefits everyone - it helps other diners see how restaurants handle feedback, and it gives you a chance to have your concerns addressed. We encourage respectful, constructive dialogue between diners and restaurants.

Absolutely! Posting fake reviews is a serious violation of our community guidelines. If you suspect a restaurant is posting fake positive reviews about themselves (or having others do it), report it immediately through the 'Report' function. Look for warning signs like: multiple new accounts posting similar glowing reviews, reviews that sound promotional rather than personal, reviews from accounts with no other activity, or reviews that appear suspiciously timed. Our team investigates all reports and takes action against restaurants that violate our policies, which may include removing fake reviews, suspending the restaurant's ability to respond, or in severe cases, removing the restaurant from our platform entirely.

We take account security seriously and use multiple layers of protection. We use industry-standard encryption for all data transmission, require strong passwords, and offer two-factor authentication (2FA) as an additional security layer. We monitor for suspicious login activity and will alert you if we detect unusual access patterns. If you suspect your account has been compromised, contact us immediately through the 'Report Security Issue' option. We also recommend: using a unique password for our platform, enabling 2FA, not sharing your login credentials, and being cautious about phishing attempts. Your account security is our priority.

Your safety is our top priority. If you receive threats or harassment related to a review you posted, take immediate action: (1) Report it to us through the 'Report' function and select 'Harassment or Threats', (2) Block the user if the harassment is coming through our platform, (3) Save screenshots or evidence of the threats, and (4) Contact local authorities if you feel your physical safety is at risk. We take harassment seriously and will investigate promptly. In severe cases, we may suspend or permanently ban offending accounts, and we cooperate with law enforcement when necessary. You should never feel unsafe because you shared an honest review.

We verify all restaurant listings through multiple methods to protect you from scams. Legitimate restaurants have: verified business information (address, phone, hours), business license verification where applicable, photos that match the actual location, and a history of real customer reviews. Warning signs of potential scams include: restaurants with no address or vague location information, requests for payment outside our platform, listings that seem too good to be true, or restaurants that pressure you to leave positive reviews. If you encounter a suspicious listing, report it immediately. We investigate all reports and remove fraudulent listings to keep our platform safe and trustworthy.

This is a serious violation of our community guidelines. Reviews must reflect genuine, unbiased dining experiences. If a restaurant offers you a free meal, discount, or any other incentive in exchange for a positive review, please decline and report it to our Trust and Safety team via the Report function or Help Center > Contact Us. We investigate all reports and may take action against restaurants that attempt to manipulate reviews. Your honesty protects the entire community.

Your health and safety are extremely important. If you experienced a food safety issue such as food poisoning, contamination, or unhygienic conditions, we strongly recommend reporting it to your local health authority or food safety regulator (e.g. your state or territory health department in Australia). You can also share your experience in a review on our platform to warn other diners, and report the issue to our team via Help Center > Contact Us. We take food safety concerns seriously and may flag the venue for review.

All promotions and deals displayed on Restaurant Reviews are submitted by participating restaurants or created by our team. We verify promotions before they go live to ensure they are genuine. Each promotion includes clear terms such as validity dates, conditions, and the participating venue. If a deal seems suspicious or too good to be true, report it via the Report function and our team will investigate promptly.

If you see a review that includes private details such as a full name, phone number, home address, or other identifying information about a staff member or another person, please report it immediately using the Report function on the review. Our moderation team takes privacy very seriously and will review the report promptly. Reviews containing personal information that could identify or harm someone will be removed.

Restaurant Reviews will never ask for your password, payment card details, or sensitive personal information via email, SMS, or in-app message. If you receive a suspicious message claiming to be from us, do not click any links or provide any information. Report it immediately via the official Help Center in the app or email support@restaurantreviews.com.au. We will investigate and advise you on whether the message was genuine. Always access your account through the official app or restaurantreviews.com.au.

We take retaliation very seriously. If you believe a restaurant is harassing you, posting manipulated responses, flagging your review unfairly, or retaliating in any way because of your honest feedback, report it immediately through the Report function or contact our Trust and Safety team via Help Center > Contact Us. We investigate all reports thoroughly. Our platform is designed to protect diners who share honest feedback, and any restaurant found retaliating may face restrictions or removal from the platform.