No Review Gating, by Design
DenAdvisor shows every customer your public review link, whatever their rating, and never ties a reward to a good review. Here is exactly how the feedback flow works, the rules it is built to follow, and how we handle your data.
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How the Rating-Blind Flow Works
The rating a customer gives never decides whether they can review you publicly.
The customer rates their visit
They scan your QR code or open your link, tap 1 to 5 stars, and can add quick tags and a comment. No app download is needed.
Every customer sees your public review link
Whatever the rating, the next screen shows your Google review link, plus Yelp, Facebook or any other site you add. DenAdvisor never hides, delays or withholds it.
1–3★ customers also get an optional private form
Customers who had a poor visit can also tell you privately what went wrong, and you are alerted right away so you can make it right. Using the form is optional, and they stay free to post publicly.
Any reward is for the feedback, not the rating
If you offer a reward, it is issued for feedback submitted to DenAdvisor, whatever the star rating. It never depends on posting on Google or anywhere else.
The Same Google Link for 5★ and 2★
Left: the thank-you screen after a positive rating. Right: the screen after a 2-star rating, with the same public review link above an optional private form.
What Google and the FTC Prohibit
Google's review policy
Google's Maps user-generated content policy on prohibited and restricted content says contributions should reflect a genuine experience and that fake engagement is removed. Among other things, it says merchants must not:
- offer incentives such as payment, discounts, or free goods or services in exchange for posting a review, or for changing or removing a negative one;
- discourage or prohibit negative reviews, or selectively solicit positive reviews from customers;
- require or pressure customers to leave ratings or reviews while on the premises, or ask for specific content.
The FTC rule on consumer reviews and testimonials
The FTC's Trade Regulation Rule on the Use of Consumer Reviews and Testimonials (16 CFR Part 465) took effect on October 21, 2024. According to the FTC's questions and answers about the rule, it prohibits, among other things, offering an incentive that is conditioned, expressly or implicitly, on a review being positive (or negative), and using threats, intimidation or false accusations to suppress reviews. The FTC also notes that while the rule has no specific ban on asking only satisfied customers for reviews, that practice could violate the FTC Act.
How DenAdvisor is built to comply
- The public review link is shown to every customer, for every rating. There is no setting to hide it for low ratings.
- Rewards are issued for feedback submitted to DenAdvisor, regardless of rating or sentiment.
- Rewards are never for posting on Google, Yelp or any other site, and DenAdvisor cannot see or detect those reviews.
- Coupon values can vary by customer segment (new, regular, loyal, at-risk), never by star rating.
- The private recovery form for 1–3★ customers is optional and sits alongside the public link, not in place of it.
This page explains how DenAdvisor works. It is not legal advice. You are responsible for how you ask for and reward reviews at your business. Note that Yelp does not allow businesses to ask customers for reviews at all.
What Your Business Must Not Do
DenAdvisor's flow follows the rules. These are the things that stay in your hands.
- Offer anything for a Google reviewNo discounts, free items or payment in exchange for posting, changing or removing a review. Google does not allow it.
- Ask only happy customersGoogle prohibits selectively soliciting positive reviews. Ask every customer the same way.
- Tie a reward to a positive ratingThe FTC rule bars conditioning an incentive, even implicitly, on the review being positive.
- Pressure customers in personGoogle says merchants should not require or pressure customers to review while on the premises, or ask for specific content.
- Write or buy fake reviewsReviews must reflect a genuine experience. Do not post reviews yourself, have staff post them, or buy them.
- Threaten or intimidate reviewersThe FTC rule prohibits using threats, intimidation or false accusations to get reviews removed.
Data & Security Practices
- Encryption in transit and at rest (at our database provider).
- Role-based access: staff and managers see only the businesses they are assigned to.
- Email-code multi-factor authentication on by default for business users.
- Rate limiting to slow down automated abuse.
- Audit logging of security events and admin actions.
- Card payments are handled by Stripe. DenAdvisor never stores card numbers.
- Sentiment analysis runs on our own servers. Feedback is not sent to an external AI service.
Privacy
- We do not sell personal data.
- No analytics or advertising trackers on our website or apps.
- Account deletion in the app is immediate.
- Email campaigns include one-click unsubscribe, and marketing opt-outs are respected.
Read the full privacy policy, our terms of service, or how to delete your account. Questions? Email [email protected].
Frequently Asked Questions
What is review gating?
Review gating means asking a customer how their visit went and only sending happy customers to a public review site, while steering unhappy customers somewhere private. Google prohibits selectively soliciting positive reviews. DenAdvisor does not do this: every customer sees your public review link, whatever their rating.
Do customers who leave 1–3 stars still see the Google review link?
Yes. Every customer sees the same public review link after rating, whether they gave 5 stars or 1. Customers who rate 1–3 stars are also offered an optional private form so you can try to make things right, but it never replaces the public link.
Can I give customers a coupon for leaving a review?
You can reward customers for submitting feedback through DenAdvisor, and the reward is issued regardless of their rating. You cannot reward customers for posting on Google: Google prohibits incentivized reviews, and DenAdvisor cannot see or detect Google reviews anyway.
Does DenAdvisor read or import my Google reviews?
No. DenAdvisor collects the feedback customers submit on your DenAdvisor feedback page. It does not import, detect or reply to reviews on Google or other sites.
Is the sentiment analysis done by AI?
No. Insights such as "What they love" and "Areas to improve" come from keyword-based analysis that runs on our own servers. Feedback is not sent to an external AI service.
Does DenAdvisor sell customer data?
No. We do not sell personal data and we do not use analytics or advertising trackers. See our privacy policy for details on what we collect and how deletion works.
Collect Honest Feedback the Right Way
Every customer gets a voice, and every customer sees your public review link.
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