Review gating

Review gating is the practice of asking a customer their rating first, then routing those who rate highly to a public review site (Google, Yelp) while filtering those who rate low to a private feedback form — preventing the negative review from ever reaching the public.

It is illegal in the United States. The Federal Trade Commission's Rule on the Use of Consumer Reviews and Testimonials (16 CFR Part 465, in force since October 2024) prohibits review suppression and the deceptive structuring of feedback channels as unfair and deceptive practices. Civil penalties reach approximately $51,744 per violation.

It is also banned by every major review platform. Google, Yelp, TripAdvisor, and Facebook all prohibit review gating under their own terms of service and remove or suppress businesses caught doing it.

What you can do instead. Offer private feedback as an additional channel, not as a replacement for the public path. Every customer should always be able to reach the public review platforms regardless of their rating; private feedback should be presented alongside, not in front of. Service-recovery workflows (closing the loop with detractors) are encouraged — what's not allowed is using the detractor's intent to leave a public review as the gate.

The destination routing in Vouch and similar platforms is designed to comply: every consumer surface offers public-review links to all customers, with private feedback as an opt-in. See our Acceptable Use Policy for the full rules we enforce.