Is review gating allowed? What review sites and the FTC actually say

No, not if you mean asking only your happy customers to post. Google's Maps content policy says merchants may not "discourage or prohibit negative reviews, or selectively solicit positive reviews from customers." The FTC's reviews rule, in force since October 21, 2024, never uses the phrase "review gating," but it does go after paying for reviews of a particular sentiment and hiding the bad ones. The habit that keeps you out of trouble is boring, and it works: ask everyone the same way.

What is review gating, exactly?

It's when you ask a customer how the visit went and only the ones who say "great" get pointed to a public review site. Everyone else lands on a private form, and that's where their opinion stays. You've probably seen the screen. "Did you love us? Yes or No."

I get the temptation. One angry review can sit at the top of your profile for months, and it stings when you know it was a bad Tuesday, not a bad business. But it's a shortcut Google has written a rule against, and it quietly turns your reviews into something other than the truth.

What does Google's policy say, word for word?

Google's Maps user-contributed content policy has a Rating Manipulation section. Under "We do not allow merchants to:" it lists this:

"Discourage or prohibit negative reviews, or selectively solicit positive reviews from customers"

The same page says merchants "should not require or pressure users to leave ratings or write reviews while on the premises, nor should they request that specific content be included." It also spells out what's fine. Merchants can "solicit or encourage the posting of content that does represent a genuine experience, without offering incentives to do so or attempting to influence the rating or the contents of the review."

Google's Business Profile help is just as blunt about incentives: "Offering incentives, like free or discounted goods or services, in exchange for customers to post reviews, change reviews, or remove negative reviews is considered fake & misleading content and is strictly prohibited."

Does the FTC rule ban review gating?

Not by name, and I'd be wary of anyone who tells you it does. What it does cover is narrower, but you should know it.

Section 465.4 bans giving "compensation or other incentives in exchange for, or conditioned expressly or by implication on, the writing or creation of consumer reviews expressing a particular sentiment, whether positive or negative." So a free blowout in exchange for a five-star review is out.

Section 465.7 is the review suppression part. It makes it a violation to use "an unfounded or groundless legal threat, a physical threat, intimidation, or a public false accusation" in response to a review, to stop it or get it removed. It also covers a business that implies the reviews shown on its own site are most or all of the ones it received, while it's holding back the negative ones.

So the FTC isn't checking your thank-you screen. It goes after the things that tend to travel with gating, like paying for good reviews and burying bad ones. If you're unsure about your own setup, talk to a lawyer. This post isn't legal advice.

So what can a salon owner actually do?

Ask every client. Same words, same link, every time. A small card with a QR code at the front desk or at each styling station does the job, and so does a quick line from whoever's at the register while clients pay.

It's also fine to give unhappy clients an easier way to reach you. The rule of thumb I'd use is simple: add an option, never take one away. If the client who hated her color can tell the manager privately and still sees the public review link, you're not gating. You're making it easy to complain to the person who can actually fix it.

That's how we built Slot Flow, for what it's worth. Every customer is offered a public review link, whatever their rating. Every customer sees the same steps and the same review button, whatever their rating. You can list up to 5 review sites per location, and each customer is offered one of them, picked at random.

What about asking staff to collect reviews?

Go easy here. Google's policy says merchants shouldn't pressure people into reviews while they're on the premises, or ask for specific content to be included. That rules out the "get ten reviews that mention your name this month" contest. A friendly "we'd love a review if you've got a second" is fine. Asking people to name a particular stylist isn't.