Shopify review policies
When Shopify merchants use apps and themes or hire Partners from the Shopify ecosystem, they're entrusting those Partners with critical tasks that help them run their businesses. Reviews allow merchants to evaluate if the apps, themes, or services they're considering are right for their business. Reviews also provide valuable feedback to our Partner community.
To ensure that reviews on the Shopify Partner Directory, Shopify App Store, and Shopify Theme Store remain unbiased, useful, and trustworthy, we've developed certain terms outlined in the Partner Program Agreement. If you don’t follow these terms and conditions, then Shopify might take action including the removal of one or more reviews. Additional action may be taken depending on the severity and number of repeated violations.
If you come across a fake, incentivized, or non-compliant review, then report a violation.
On this page
- Shopify's review policies
- Identifying non-compliant reviews
- Why does Shopify delay review postings?
- Review policy violations
- As a Partner, how will I know if a review has been removed?
- What kinds of reviews will Shopify investigate?
- What if I think one of my reviews was removed incorrectly?
- How can I report a suspicious review?
Shopify's review policies
Reviews on the Shopify Partner Directory, Shopify App Store, and Shopify Theme Store are meant to be unbiased, useful, and trustworthy.
To protect the integrity of reviews, Shopify will block or remove reviews that are against our policies, including the following types of reviews:
- Fake or misleading
- Being used improperly for commercial gain
- Posted in exchange for financial or other gains
- Posted multiple times from the same account or more than one account
- Misleading as to the reviewer's identity or their connection to the app being reviewed
- Containing or linking to prohibited or illegal content
Learn more about managing app reviews.
Identifying non-compliant reviews
Shopify uses multiple methods and sources to detect non-compliant reviews including algorithms, manual searches, and community submissions of our violation form.
Why does Shopify delay review postings?
There is a brief delay between when a review is submitted and when it appears on the relevant listing page. This delay helps Shopify detect and block any non-compliant reviews.
Review policy violations
If a Partner engages in any behavior violating our review policies, then Shopify reserves the right to take certain necessary actions, including the following actions:
- Remove non-compliant reviews.
- Edit non-compliant reviews (Shopify will never edit a review if it changes the overall message, and will only remove Personal Identifiable Information [PII] or anything that goes against our Acceptable Use Policy [AUP]).
- Demote an app or theme's ranking in Shopify's App or Theme Store.
- Remove an app, theme, or Partner Directory listing from promotional surfaces.
- Unpublish an app or theme from the Shopify App Store or Theme Store.
- Remove a profile from the Shopify Partner Directory.
Whenever possible, Shopify gives Partners an opportunity to fix the issue. However, in the case of severe infractions with concrete evidence, a resolution may not be possible and Shopify's Partner Governance team might decide to terminate your Partner account. Learn more about Shopify's Partner Program policy enforcement.
As a Partner, how will I know if a review has been removed?
When a review is flagged, Partners receive a one-time notification. Future reviews identified as non-compliant might be removed without notice. To preserve the security of our detection algorithm, Shopify won’t share specific details on which reviews were removed or the methods used to identify non-compliant reviews. We appreciate our Partners' patience and cooperation as we work to maintain an appropriate balance between transparency and preserving the privacy of Shopify merchants, and the integrity of the Shopify App and Theme Stores, and the Shopify Partner Directory.
Shopify will contact you using the business email associated with your Partner account, along with up to three owners, based on who logged in most recently. Make sure that your Partner account's business email and all owner emails are up to date.
What kinds of reviews will Shopify investigate?
Shopify checks all app, theme, and Partner Directory listing reviews for compliance, regardless of star rating or when the review was left.
What if I think one of my reviews was removed incorrectly?
If you believe a review was removed by mistake, then reply directly to the removal notification email. Include a detailed description of why the review should be allowed, along with any supporting evidence or documentation.
If Shopify determines a mistake was made, then someone from our Partner Governance team will reply with next steps. Partner Governance will only reply to emails that provide evidence proving a mistake was made. There's no set time frame for how long this process might take.
How can I report a suspicious review?
If you come across a fake, incentivized, or non-compliant review, then report a violation. Thank you for helping us keep our ecosystem world-class!