Compliance
Why the product can't do the thing our competitors advertise.
Google's April 2026 rating-manipulation update banned review gating, counter kiosks and staff review quotas. Two funded companies in this category still sell all three. This page explains what the rules actually say, and why we designed around them rather than through them.
The rules
What Google allows, and what it doesn't.
Allowed
- Asking every customer, neutrally, with no incentive attached
- A card or stand the customer uses on their own device, on their own initiative
- Making the review easier to leave — fewer taps is not manipulation
- Replying to reviews in public, including critical ones
Banned
- Gating: routing unhappy customers to a private form before they reach Google
- Counter kiosks and shared tablets
- Review quotas for staff
- Incentives of any kind
- Asking for a specific star rating
- Directing staff to solicit reviews that name a particular employee
Google publishes this itself. Prohibited and restricted content for Business Profiles and the contributed-content policy are the two worth reading.
Side by side
What we do, and what review-filter software does.
| Practice | Dime Media | Review-filter software | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Routes low ratings to a private form | No | Yes | Review gating. Named directly in Google's rating-manipulation policy. |
| Filters customers by star rating before Google | No | Yes | The same practice with a different label. |
| Uses a counter tablet or shared kiosk | No | Yes | The review must come from the customer's own device, on their own initiative. |
| Sets review targets or quotas for staff | No | Yes | Banned outright. Enforcement lands on your Business Profile. |
| Asks the customer for a specific star rating | No | Yes | Steering the rating is manipulation whether or not anyone is filtered. |
| Asks customers to name a staff member | No | Yes | Directing review content, and the fastest route to a per-employee quota. |
| Offers an incentive in exchange for a review | No | Yes | Discounts, freebies, loyalty points, prize entries, thank-you gifts. All of it. |
A cross in our column is the good outcome. Every row is something the product deliberately cannot do — not a setting we leave switched off, but a capability that was never built.
The rule that matters most
Ask everyone, at the same moment, in the same words.
Pick one moment in your normal flow and ask every customer at that moment, in the same neutral words, every time. Not the ones who seem happy — everyone. A script you use every time beats a judgement call made fifty times a day, and it is the only version of this that Google's policies allow.
This is why every script we ship is neutral, why every industry page names a fixed moment rather than a type of customer, and why the product has no way to tell you who looked happy.
Per card, not per person
Why there is no staff report.
Extra cards give you per-card tap tracking. Give each truck, chair, or station its own card and see which ones actually get used. That is a placement metric — it tells you where the card is working, which is a question about counters rather than about people.
What we will not build, and why:
- Attributing reviews to a named employee
- Ranking staff by reviews generated
- Setting review targets or quotas for staff
- Asking customers to name a staff member in a review
Google’s policy bans staff review quotas and directing customers to name individual employees. A per-employee leader board is a quota with a nicer interface, and the enforcement would land on your profile.
If you get it wrong
What actually happens to your listing.
Reviews removed
Google deletes the reviews it believes were obtained improperly. The ones you earned honestly can go with them, because the detection is profile-level.
A public warning on your listing
Google displays a notice on the Business Profile itself, visible to every customer who looks you up. This is the one owners do not expect.
Profile suspension
In serious or repeated cases the listing is suspended, which removes you from Maps and local search entirely until it is reinstated.
None of this lands on the vendor who sold you the software. It lands on the Business Profile, which is yours.
Questions
Common questions
Do they have to type the review?
Yes. The customer writes their own review — we open the screen, we do not fill it in. Anything that pre-writes a review for someone is a fake review, and it is the kind of thing that gets a Business Profile suspended.
Is this allowed under Google's review policies?
Yes, and it is built that way on purpose. Google allows you to ask customers for reviews as long as you ask everyone, do not offer anything in exchange, and do not steer people by how they feel. The customer uses their own phone, on their own initiative, and the review goes straight to Google. Nothing sits in between.
Can I route unhappy customers to a private form first?
No. That is review gating, it is explicitly banned, and we will not build it. Two funded competitors sell exactly that feature. Google's April 2026 rating-manipulation update named the practice, and enforcement lands on your Business Profile — review removal, profile suspension, and a public warning banner on your listing.
Can I put a tablet on the counter for reviews instead?
No. Counter kiosks and shared tablets are banned under the same policy, as is handing a customer your own phone. The review has to come from the customer's device on their own initiative. That is the entire reason this product is a card and not a screen.
Can I offer a discount for leaving a review?
No. Incentives of any kind are banned — discounts, free items, loyalty points, prize entries, and anything framed as a thank-you afterwards. It is one of the easiest violations for Google to detect, because customers mention it in the review.
Can I see which staff member generated the most reviews?
No, and we will not build it. Extra cards give you per-card tap tracking so you can see which truck, chair or station gets used — that is a placement metric. Turning it into a staff metric means review quotas, and Google's policy bans both staff quotas and directing customers to name specific employees.
Can you see who left which review?
No. Reviews go straight to Google and Google does not tell us who wrote them. We can tell you a card was tapped; we cannot connect that to a review or to a person, and we would not want the liability of trying.
Questions? 801-734-5948 · info@dimemedia.co