A review is personal data — of the reviewer, and often of named staff. GDPR gives both sides rights that platforms must honour without needing a lawyer to find the buttons. This is the retention model ScoreReview UK operates and recommends.
Retention periods that make sense
Public reviews: retained while the business profile is live and the review is not withdrawn. Verification evidence: 7 years to meet fraud-defence needs, then hashed and unlinked from the review.
The right to be forgotten
A reviewer can request deletion at any time. We anonymise the review — the text remains, the identity does not — unless the reviewer requests full removal, in which case the review comes down within 30 days.
Named staff and third parties
A named staff member can request their name be redacted from any review. The review remains; the name is removed and the audit log records who redacted and when.
Data portability
Reviewers can export their full review history as JSON or CSV from the account settings page — no ticket, no wait.
FAQ
Can a business demand a review be deleted?
No. A business can dispute a review under the policy, but only the reviewer or the moderator has the right to remove it.
Do you sell review data?
No. Reviews are displayed publicly on business profiles and syndicated through opt-in partner APIs — never sold to data brokers.
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Discussion (2)
- Priya S.· 2 days ago
Really practical breakdown — the four-part reply structure is now on our till-side crib sheet. Thank you.
- Dan (Cannock Plumbing)· 5 days ago
Went from 12 reviews to 47 in three months following almost exactly this playbook. It works.
