Trust & Transparency
Review Policy
Every review on WiserReview should come from a real customer. This page explains how we make sure of that: how reviews are collected, what the Verified Buyer badge actually means, and what we do when something looks off.
This page meets the disclosure requirements under the EU Omnibus Directive (2019/2161), the FTC's Consumer Review Rule (16 CFR Part 465), and the UK DMCC Act 2024. Merchants selling in the EU or UK can link to this page from their Terms & Conditions.
1. How Reviews Are Collected
Reviews are collected through a purchase-triggered email flow. The whole thing is tied to real order data from the merchant's platform. Here's how it works:
Customer places an order
A shopper buys something from a merchant's store on Shopify, WooCommerce, Wix, BigCommerce, Prestashop, or Ecwid.
We receive the order
The platform sends us an order notification. We record the order ID, which ties everything back to a real purchase.
A unique review link is created
We generate a one-time review link for that specific order and customer. It can't be reused, forwarded, or used by anyone else.
Review request email goes out
A few days after the order is fulfilled (the merchant sets the timing), we email the customer their personal review link. Only they receive it.
Customer leaves a review
The customer clicks the link and writes their review. We match that link back to the original order. That's how we know it's from a real buyer.
Verified Buyer badge is shown
Because we can confirm the purchase, the review gets a Verified Buyer badge on the merchant's storefront.
2. What “Verified Buyer” Means
With the badge
A review gets the Verified Buyer badge when:
- • It came through a personal review link we sent to the actual buyer
- • That link traces back to a real order on the merchant's platform
- • It hasn't been flagged as a duplicate or suspicious submission
Without the badge
Reviews without the badge are typically:
- • Imported from another platform via CSV
- • Left through a public widget without an order link
- • Submitted in a way where we couldn't confirm the purchase
These reviews are still shown, just without the badge. We never label something verified when it isn't.
Merchants can't add or remove the badge themselves. It's assigned by the system based on order confirmation. Nothing else.
3. Anti-Abuse & Fraud Prevention
A few things we have in place to keep fake and duplicate reviews out:
One-time review links
Each review link works once. After a review is submitted, the link is spent. Sending the same link again does nothing.
Rate limiting
We limit how many reviews a single device can submit in a short window. This makes it much harder to flood a store with reviews from one source.
Content sanitization
Review text, title, and name go through server-side cleanup before we save anything. HTML is stripped, length is capped. What you see is plain text from the customer.
Duplicate detection
Before saving a review, we check if one already exists from that same link. If it does, the new submission is dropped.
IP logging
Every submission logs an IP address. Merchants and our support team can use this to spot and investigate suspicious patterns.
Cloudflare WAF
All our endpoints sit behind Cloudflare's Web Application Firewall. Bad traffic gets filtered before it ever reaches our servers.
4. Merchant Controls
Asking for a review
Merchants send review request emails to buyers after an order is fulfilled. The timing is up to them. They can set up automatic follow-up reminders, run manual campaigns to past customers, or reach out to individual buyers. They can also reply publicly to any review left on their store.
Giving a review
Buyers can leave a review through the email link we send them, or directly through the review widget on the store. Anyone visiting the store can also submit a review without a prior purchase. We accept them, but they won't get a Verified Buyer badge since there's no order to check against.
Review moderation
Reviews go live automatically by default. Merchants can switch on manual moderation if they want to approve each one before it's published. Useful for screening spam or off-topic content. It's not meant to filter out negative ratings, and shouldn't be used that way.
Verified Buyer badge
The badge is applied automatically when we can trace the review back to a real order. Merchants can't add it, remove it, or change which reviews show it.
Edit policy
Merchants can fix typos, formatting, or small errors in a review, but they can't touch the star rating. That number stays exactly as the customer left it. Whenever a review is edited, we notify the reviewer so they're aware of the change.
Importing reviews
Merchants can bring in reviews from other platforms via CSV. Imported reviews show up without the Verified Buyer badge. We have no way to confirm those purchases happened through the current store.
5. Review Sharing, Syndication & Translation
Sharing reviews across products
Merchants can group related products so reviews are shared between them. Handy when the same product is listed separately by size or colour. The Verified Buyer status travels with the review as-is. Grouping doesn't add or remove the badge.
Multi-store syndication
Merchants running multiple stores can sync reviews between them using product SKUs to match items. Reviews on the receiving store show where they originally came from. The Verified Buyer badge reflects the original purchase. It doesn't get re-evaluated or upgraded when a review moves to another store. Syndication has to be turned on by the merchant; it doesn't happen automatically.
Review translation
Merchants can translate reviews into the language of their storefront using our built-in AI translation. The original review text is never changed. Translation creates a separate version shown to visitors based on language settings. Translated reviews are labeled as machine-translated so shoppers know. The star rating and Verified Buyer badge are unaffected. Each workspace has a translation quota.
Showing reviews outside your store
Reviews can appear beyond the storefront: Google Shopping rich snippets, product review feeds, and integrations with tools like Klaviyo or Meta. Webhook exports let merchants push review data to other systems. The review content is never changed for external use.
6. Use of AI
We use AI in a few places. Here's exactly where, and where we don't:
Where AI helps
- • Suggesting reply drafts for merchants responding to reviews
- • Grammar suggestions when writing review request emails
- • Sentiment analysis and insights across a store's review history
- • Translating reviews into other languages (see Section 5)
Where AI has no role
- • Writing or generating reviews on behalf of customers
- • Changing the text or star rating of a submitted review
- • Creating fake reviews of any kind
Everything displayed as a customer review was written by a real person. We don't publish AI-generated text as customer feedback.
7. Regulatory Compliance
Review authenticity is regulated in most major markets. Here's how WiserReview aligns with the key rules that apply to our merchants.
No fake reviews
WiserReview only sends review requests to customers with a confirmed order. There's no way to generate or buy reviews through the platform.
No review gating
Every buyer in a campaign gets the same request, regardless of how they might rate. There's no sentiment screening before sending invites.
No selective suppression
Moderation tools are for content screening (spam, profanity), not for filtering by star rating.
Incentive disclosure
Incentivized reviews are marked with a disclosure badge. Merchants selling in the US, UK, or EU are responsible for keeping it visible.
Insider reviews
Reviews from employees or business partners must disclose that relationship. This is the merchant's responsibility.
Verification disclosure
This page explains how reviews are verified, meeting the EU Omnibus Directive disclosure requirement at the platform level.
| Regulation | Scope |
|---|---|
| FTC 16 CFR Part 465 | US. Bans fake reviews, review gating, selective suppression, and undisclosed incentives. In effect since October 2024. |
| Consumer Review Fairness Act (2016) | US. Prohibits contract terms that prevent customers from leaving honest reviews. |
| EU Omnibus Directive (2019/2161) | EU. Requires disclosure of whether and how consumer reviews are verified. |
| EU Unfair Commercial Practices (2005/29/EC) | EU. Classifies fake or manipulated reviews as a misleading commercial practice. |
| GDPR (EU 2016/679) | EU. Governs personal data in review content. See our Privacy Policy and DPA. |
| UK DMCC Act 2024 | UK. Prohibits fake reviews and undisclosed incentivized reviews. Enforced by the CMA. |
8. For Merchants: Compliance Disclosure Template
If your store sells to EU or UK customers, add the text below to your Terms & Conditions or Reviews page. That covers your disclosure requirement under the EU Omnibus Directive. Feel free to adjust the wording to fit your store's tone.
Adapt for your own legal pages. Consult your legal advisor for jurisdiction-specific requirements.
Questions or Concerns
Spotted a review that looks fake or doesn't belong? Reach out and we'll look into it.
Tatvam Cloud Solutions, Inc
[email protected]