Trust & Safety

At IsItLegit, we want reviews and public feedback to be useful, fair, and trustworthy. This Trust & Safety / Moderation Policy explains what kind of content is allowed on the platform, what we may remove or restrict, how moderation works, and how users or businesses can report issues or appeal certain decisions.

1. Purpose of this policy

IsItLegit is designed to help people discover, compare, and evaluate companies, products, services, tools, websites, or public-facing brands. For that to work, content on the platform must be genuine, relevant, and reasonably safe for users to read and interact with.

We do not aim to remove criticism simply because it is negative. Honest negative reviews, disagreements, and critical opinions are allowed. What we do not allow is content that is unlawful, deceptive, abusive, manipulated, or clearly posted in bad faith.

2. Content we allow

In general, we allow content that:

• reflects a real experience, opinion, or viewpoint
• is relevant to the subject being reviewed or discussed
• is written in a civil and understandable way
• does not mislead users about who wrote it or why
• does not break applicable law or the rights of others

3. Content we may remove, restrict, downrank, or reject

We may take action against content that includes, promotes, or appears to involve any of the following:

Illegal content

• content that appears unlawful under applicable law
• threats of violence or incitement to violence
• harassment, stalking, or targeted intimidation
• hate speech or unlawful discriminatory abuse
• content that infringes intellectual property rights
• unlawful disclosure of personal or confidential information
• fraud, scams, impersonation, or deceptive conduct

Unsafe or abusive content

• personal attacks, slurs, or degrading language
• sexual content that is explicit, exploitative, or inappropriate for the platform
• attempts to shame, blackmail, extort, or intimidate another person or business
• malicious attempts to damage reputation without a genuine basis

Fake, manipulated, or misleading reviews

• reviews submitted by people who did not have a real experience with the subject reviewed
• fabricated, copied, AI-generated, or mass-produced reviews presented as genuine user feedback
• paid, incentivised, or coordinated reviews that are not clearly disclosed where disclosure is required
• reviews posted by a business about itself, its staff, its competitors, or related parties without proper disclosure
• review rings, vote manipulation, rating inflation, or attempts to game rankings
• duplicate or near-duplicate submissions across multiple profiles, listings, or entities

Off-topic or low-value content

• spam or promotional content disguised as a review
• meaningless, repetitive, or auto-posted submissions
• content that is unrelated to the listing or topic
• attempts to use review fields for customer support demands, legal threats, or unrelated disputes only

4. Reviews and authenticity

We expect reviews and ratings on IsItLegit to reflect genuine experiences or honestly held opinions.

We may use signals such as account history, submission patterns, IP or device indicators, timing patterns, duplicate text checks, supporting evidence, or manual review to assess authenticity. A review may be limited, flagged, delayed, or removed if we reasonably suspect that it is false, manipulated, coordinated, or misleading.

If we label certain content as “Verified” or use a similar indicator, that label only means that we have carried out the type of internal check described on the relevant page or in our product flow. It does not mean that we guarantee every factual statement in the review is objectively true.

5. Business conduct on the platform

Businesses, their employees, agencies, contractors, and affiliates must not:

• post fake positive reviews about themselves
• post fake negative reviews about competitors
• offer money, gifts, discounts, refunds, or benefits in exchange for reviews in a misleading or undisclosed way
• pressure users to remove, change, or distort legitimate reviews
• misuse legal complaints, threats, or takedown requests to suppress fair criticism

We may take stronger enforcement action where we see organised manipulation, commercial deception, or repeat abuse.

6. How moderation works

We use a mix of automated tools, internal signals, and human review. Moderation may happen before publication, after publication, or in response to reports, audits, or internal checks.

Depending on the situation, we may:

• leave content unchanged
• request clarification or supporting information
• limit visibility temporarily
• add a notice, label, or warning
• reject or remove content
• restrict account features
• suspend or permanently ban accounts
• preserve evidence or records where necessary for legal, safety, or enforcement reasons

Not every moderation action means that content is unlawful. In some cases, content may be restricted because it appears unreliable, abusive, misleading, or inconsistent with platform rules.

7. Reporting content or accounts

Users, businesses, rights holders, and other affected parties can report content or account behaviour that they believe violates this policy or applicable law.

To help us review a report efficiently, please include, where possible:

• the URL or clear location of the content
• a short explanation of the issue
• any supporting evidence or screenshots
• your contact details, if you want a reply
• if relevant, an explanation of why the content is inaccurate, illegal, fake, or abusive

Submitting a report does not automatically mean content will be removed. We assess reports based on the information available to us and the context of the case.

8. Appeals and review requests

If your content, account, or listing is affected by a moderation decision, you may contact us and ask for a further review, unless the restriction was required by law, imposed for urgent safety reasons, or involves clear spam or abuse.

Appeals should explain:

• what decision you are challenging
• why you believe it was incorrect
• any additional context or evidence you want us to consider

We may uphold, reverse, or modify the original decision.

9. Repeat abuse and enforcement

We may apply stricter measures to repeat offenders, coordinated networks, or parties that repeatedly misuse the platform. This may include broader removal of content, account suspension, listing restrictions, or permanent exclusion from some or all platform features.

10. Transparency and recordkeeping

We may keep internal records of reports, moderation outcomes, account actions, and related evidence for safety, compliance, fraud prevention, audit, or legal purposes.

Where required by applicable law or where we consider it appropriate, we may publish aggregate information about moderation activity in a transparency-oriented format.

11. Limitations

We do not guarantee that every review, profile, rating, or statement on IsItLegit is accurate, complete, or current. Moderation reduces risk, but no system can detect every false, harmful, or manipulated submission.

We also do not act as a court or public authority. In some disputes, especially those involving contested facts, contracts, defamation claims, or legal rights, the parties may need to resolve the matter directly or through legal channels.