A review moderation policy is a short set of rules for which customer reviews you publish, which you hide and who decides. For a small Shopify store it should fit on one page: hide reviews for content problems (spam, personal data, abuse, wrong product), never for a low rating, apply every rule to positive and negative reviews equally, and keep a one-line record of each decision.
Why you need one before the first ugly review arrives
Without a policy, moderation depends on who's working that day and how much the review stings. The founder sees a 1-star review at 11pm, hides it in a bad mood, and now the store's rules are whatever felt right at 11pm.
There's also a practical reason. A product page with a few honest 3-star reviews looks more believable than a suspiciously perfect one, and in the US the FTC's consumer reviews rule specifically targets review suppression. The FTC's questions and answers on the rule say you can exclude reviews about the wrong business, or ones that only cover other products or customer service, as long as the policy applies equally to positive and negative reviews. That "equally" is the heart of any good policy. (I'm not a lawyer and this isn't legal advice; if you sell into the US at volume, read the FTC page yourself.)
The difference between criticism and a content problem
"The fabric pilled after two washes, disappointed" is criticism. It stays up.
"The fabric pilled. Here's my order with my address: 14 Park Road…" is a content problem. The criticism can stay; the address can't.
Every rule in your policy should describe a content problem, not a feeling. Here's how I'd draw the lines:
Personal data (address, phone, order number) in text or photo
Hide, ask the customer for an edited version
Yes
Abuse, slurs, threats
Hide
Yes
Review clearly about a different product
Move to the right product if your app allows, otherwise hide
Yes
Only about delivery or support, on a product page
Hide from product page or move to store reviews, per your written rule
Yes
Suspected fake (no order, duplicate wording)
Hold, investigate, decide
Yes
Rude about your team but about a real experience
Publish, reply calmly
Yes
That last column is the test. If you'd hide a 1-star review for mentioning delivery but publish a 5-star one that says "fast delivery, love it", your policy is about sentiment, not content.
A review moderation policy template you can copy
Adapt this to your store. Most of it you can publish as-is on a "Reviews" page if you want to be transparent.
Our review policy
We publish all genuine reviews from customers, positive and negative.
We don't remove or hide a review because of its rating or because it criticises us.
We hide reviews that contain spam or links, personal information, abuse or threats, or content about a different product. We apply these rules to every review regardless of rating.
If a review contains personal information, we'll contact the reviewer and ask if they'd like to submit an edited version.
Reviews that only discuss delivery or customer service may be moved from the product page to our store reviews.
We may reply publicly to reviews. We never ask customers to change or remove a review in exchange for a refund, replacement or discount.
If you've had a problem with your order, contact us on WhatsApp or email and we'll help, whatever you wrote in your review.
Internal notes (not published):
Routine decisions: [name of person who checks reviews]
Unclear cases and suspected fakes: [founder or manager]
Decision log: [link to sheet]
Review app statuses we use: [for example, Published / Hidden / Pending]
Know what your review app's buttons actually do
"Hidden", "unpublished", "archived" and "pending" don't mean the same thing in every app. Depending on the app, a hidden review may or may not still count toward your average rating or show up in other channels the app syncs to. Check your app's documentation. If you use Judge.me, its guide to publishing and hiding reviews explains each status.
Don't tell a customer "your review has been removed everywhere" unless you've confirmed it.
Keep support separate from the review
A bad review often means a real order problem. Fix it. But fix it because it's broken, not as a trade for a better rating.
Here's the kind of message I'd send after a 2-star review about a broken zip:
Hi Ravi, Sana from Loom & Pack here. I saw your review about the zip on the backpack, and I'm sorry, that shouldn't happen after a week. Can you send a photo of the zip and your order number? We'll get a replacement out either way.
What not to send:
Hi Ravi, we'd love to send you a replacement. Once it arrives, could you update your review to reflect the great service?
The second message ties help to the rating. The FTC has said that paying to remove truthful negative reviews may violate the FTC Act, and customers can smell it anyway. If Ravi decides to update his review after a good experience, that's his call. Our guides on responding to negative reviews and handling an angry customer on WhatsApp go deeper on tone. If you're tempted to offer something for reviews in general, read the rules on review incentives first.
With WhatFlow, that conversation happens in a shared WhatsApp inbox, so the person who reads reviews can assign the chat to whoever handles replacements. There are no seat fees, so adding the review-checker to the inbox doesn't cost anything extra, and a 50-person support team pays the same in seats as a team of two. More on setting up a shared team inbox if you're still using one phone.
Photos need their own check
Review photos can show more than the product: shipping labels, kids' faces, a house number. Your policy should say what happens when they do (hide the photo, message the customer, offer to publish the text alone).
And don't treat a photo a customer sent to support as a review photo. Someone sending a picture of a damaged parcel on WhatsApp wants help, not publicity. See collecting photo and video reviews with permission.
Keep a decision log, but keep it small
For each non-routine decision, record:
Review ID (not the review text)
Rule applied
Action taken
Who decided, and the date
Don't copy the customer's address or phone number into the spreadsheet. You hid the review to remove personal data; don't recreate it somewhere else.
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Take two made-up reviews and give them to a teammate:
Five stars, glowing, but the photo shows a full shipping label.
One star, "sizing is way off, I'm a medium and the M fits like an S", no personal details.
Ask what they'd do with each. The right answer is: hide the photo on the first and ask for another, publish the second as is. If someone wants to approve the first and hide the second, your policy wording isn't clear enough yet.
Then look at the real cases from the month. If the same complaint keeps appearing (sizing, a weak zip, a confusing instruction leaflet), that's not a moderation problem. Send it to whoever can fix the product or the description. Our guide to turning customer feedback into product improvements covers that part.
Frequently asked questions
Can I delete negative reviews on my Shopify store?
You shouldn't remove a review because it's negative. Hide reviews only for content reasons you apply equally to good and bad ratings, such as spam, personal data, abuse or a review about the wrong product.
What should a review moderation policy include?
What you publish, the specific reasons you'd hide a review, who makes the call, how you record decisions, and how customers with a problem get help. One page is enough for most small stores.
Can I offer a refund if the customer removes a bad review?
Don't. Fix the problem because it's a problem, and leave the review decision to the customer. The FTC has said that paying to remove truthful negative reviews may violate the FTC Act.
Can I hide reviews that only talk about shipping?
Under the FTC's guidance you can exclude reviews that are only about customer service or about other products, as long as the same rule applies to positive and negative reviews alike.
