Removing a Trustpilot Review: Flagging & Verification
Trustpilot reviews can't be deleted directly, but they can be flagged: businesses with a verified Trustpilot profile can flag reviews that violate the guidelines. In addition – and this is Trustpilot's speciality – if you doubt the customer contact you can trigger a verification of the service experience: the reviewer must then provide proof (e.g. an order number). Without proof, the review is taken offline. Factual criticism from genuine customers stays online; the decision is made solely by Trustpilot.
Trustpilot works differently from Google: the platform sees itself as an open review portal where anyone can share service experiences – at the same time it has one of the most structured verification procedures in the industry. If you know it, you can contest non-compliant reviews efficiently.
Which Trustpilot reviews are reportable?
| Content of the review | Reportable? |
|---|---|
| No genuine service experience recognisable (no purchase, no interaction) | Yes – verification request possible |
| Review concerns the wrong company | Yes |
| Insults, hate speech, discriminatory content | Yes |
| Mention of personal data (employee names etc.) | Yes |
| Advertising, links, competitor promotion in the review | Yes |
| Harsh but genuine criticism of service or product | No – stays online |
How to proceed – step by step
- Verify your profile: Contesting reviews requires a verified, free business profile on Trustpilot. Without access you can't flag reviews.
- Flag the review: Open the review in the business dashboard and choose "flag review". Trustpilot asks for the specific reason – choose precisely (e.g. "not a genuine experience" rather than a blanket "harmful").
- Request verification: If the customer contact is in doubt, Trustpilot asks the author to prove the service experience – for instance with an order number or invoice data. Without timely proof, Trustpilot takes the review offline.
- Don't forget to reply: Independent of the report you can reply publicly. The same rules apply as on Google – factual, solution-oriented, no customer data.
- Avoid misuse: Trustpilot treats systematic flagging of legitimate criticism as abuse and can publicly mark the business profile. Only flag what actually violates the guidelines.
Important: Trustpilot publishes transparency data on how businesses use the flagging function. Anyone who indiscriminately flags every negative review risks a public warning notice on their own profile – which does more damage than any single review.
And your Google profile?
For most businesses in the DACH region it isn't Trustpilot that decides the first impression, it's Google: the star average in your Google profile appears directly in Search and Maps. If non-compliant reviews sit there, the lever is bigger – Sternehero automates reporting Google reviews self-service; Google checks and decides. The main guide covers the Google reporting route.
Can I have a Trustpilot review deleted?+
Not directly. You can flag (report) the review and, if customer contact is missing, trigger a verification of the service experience. Trustpilot checks and decides independently – permissible criticism stays online.
What happens if the reviewer can't prove the experience?+
If the author can't provide proof (e.g. an order number) when Trustpilot asks, the review is taken offline. That's the most effective route against reviews without genuine customer contact.
Does flagging on Trustpilot cost anything?+
No. Flagging reviews is part of the free business profile.
Does Sternehero also cover Trustpilot?+
No. Sternehero specialises in reporting non-compliant Google reviews. Trustpilot complaints run directly through the Trustpilot dashboard.
This article does not constitute legal advice and describes the platforms' reporting processes to the best of our knowledge. Every report is decided solely by the respective platform.
