Review Guidelines

Effective October 26, 2026

These guidelines are for people who write reviews and for owners who reply to them. They are part of the "Terms of Service" and are just as binding. Rated is only useful while its reviews are real, so these rules protect readers, authors and honest owners.

1. Write about what happened to you

A review describes only your own experience with a project. Pick the role that fits that experience:

• Advertiser: you bought an ad in a channel.
• Reader: you read a channel.
• Customer: you used a bot, a service or an exchanger.

Choose your role honestly. If you only read a channel, do not write as an advertiser.

• Be specific: what you ordered, how much you paid, what you got and when. A review like that helps others far more than "all great" or "avoid".
• One deal gets one review. If something changes, for example you got a refund or the order was finally completed, edit your existing review instead of writing a new one.
• You can praise and you can criticize. The opinion is yours, but the facts in your review must be true.
• Do not review your own project, a project you are connected to (for example, you work for it or earn money from it), or a competitor.

2. What a review is made of

• Rating from 1 to 5.
• Role: advertiser, reader or customer.
• Text: what happened and how it ended.
• Fields for the project type: price, post format, how many subscribers came, how many unsubscribed, exchange rate.
• "What went wrong": reasons you can tick if something did not work out.

The form adapts to the project. It has one or two questions that a language model picked for that project. Based on your text, the model suggests how to fill in the fields. Only the fields you confirm with a tap are published. If you do not know the answer, leave the field empty: there is no need to guess numbers.

Your Telegram name and your role are shown under the review. Readers can mark a review as "helpful". The verified owner of the project can reply publicly. You can edit or delete your review at any time.

3. Proof

Proof shows that the deal really took place. You can attach it to any review. It is usually optional, but a review with an accusation will not be published without it, as the next section explains.

• A verified review gets a checkmark and carries a weight of 1 in the rating.
• A review without proof is published with the label "as told by the author" and carries a weight of 0.5. More on the "How We Calculate the Rating" page.
• You can add proof later: edit your review and attach it.
• Proof confirms a fact: the post went live or the payment went through. It does not prove that a project is honest or that the service was good.
• Attach only your own materials. You can cover anything on a screenshot that is not relevant.
• If you fake proof, we delete the review and may block the account right away.
• Keep in mind that a transaction hash is public: anyone can look up that payment on the blockchain. More in the "Privacy Policy".

4. Accusations need proof

If you say you were scammed, were not paid, or did not receive the service, your review needs proof. Without it, such a review is not published. A hint counts as an accusation too: "careful, they're scammers" will not go out without proof.

Why. A false accusation can seriously harm people, and it cannot be checked from the text alone.

What you can do:

• attach proof, and the review is published with a checkmark;
• describe your experience without the accusation, and the review is published with the label "as told by the author".

Example. "The channel took the money and never ran the post" needs proof. "The post went out later than agreed, and fewer subscribers came than I expected" can be published without proof.

If your review is not published, the reason is sent to you in the @ratedapp bot.

5. What you cannot post

These rules apply to reviews and to owner replies alike.

Other people's personal data. Phone numbers, addresses, documents, card numbers, private photos and private messages. You may mention the public @username of a project's admin.

Aggression. Threats, insults, harassment, calls for violence, discrimination.

Ads and spam. Advertising and referral links, promo codes, calls to switch to another project.

Trading the review. "I'll delete it if you refund me", or asking for money or a gift to change or delete a review.

Falsehoods. Made-up facts, someone else's experience passed off as your own, fake proof.

Other people's content. Text and photos you have no rights to. Short quotes that the review needs are fine. Pretending to be someone else also belongs here.

Illegal content. Anything prohibited by law.

If the problem is small, for example someone's phone number in the text, a moderator may hide just that part and publish the rest.

A harsh but honest review of your own experience is allowed. A low rating on its own is not a violation.

6. Manipulation

We treat the following as rating manipulation:

• reviews for money, bonuses or discounts;
• reviews ordered or prompted by the owner: with a set rating, with ready-made text, or from people who were never customers;
• reviews from several accounts of one person;
• reviews without real experience;
• review swaps;
• mass "helpful" marks.

What we do:

• remove the manipulation in full, after which the rating is recalculated;
• if the owner ordered it, a notice appears on the project page;
• limit or block the accounts that took part.

7. For owners

This section is for those who have verified their rights to a project.

You may not:

• buy reviews;
• offer bonuses, discounts or gifts for a rating, or for changing or deleting a review;
• pressure authors: threaten them, demand that a review be removed, message them again and again, or make a refund depend on the review being deleted.

You may:

• ask customers to leave a review, as long as you ask everyone, not only the happy ones, promise nothing in return and do not suggest a rating;
• reply to reviews;
• open a dispute if a review breaks the rules. How this works is described in "Disputes and Complaints".

Replies. An owner's reply is public, and the same rules apply to it as to reviews. Do not post the author's personal data, and argue with facts. If a review breaks the rules, open a dispute rather than fighting it out in a reply.

An owner cannot hide or delete a review, change the rating, or choose which reviews the widget shows. We do not tell the owner anything about the author beyond what everyone can see, unless the law requires it.

8. How moderation works

Every review goes through an automatic check. A language model flags possible violations, and moderators look at the flags.

Possible decisions:

• publish;
• publish with the label "as told by the author";
• hold until proof is provided;
• edit, for example to hide personal data or a link;
• delete.

Good to know:

• The decision and the reason are sent to the @ratedapp bot. If you have blocked the bot, the messages will not reach you.
• You can fix your review and submit it again.
• If you disagree with a decision, contact support: @ratedapp → Profile → Support or support@rated.tg. A person reviews your request.
• Moderation checks whether the rules were followed. It does not decide who was right in the deal.
• A published review may be checked again after a report or in a dispute.

9. If you see a violation

• On any review, tap "⋯" → "Report" and choose a reason. Any Rated user can report, not only the owner.
• A report does not hide a review on its own. If the violation is obvious, for example personal data or threats, a moderator may hide the review until the check is complete.
• If you are a verified owner, open a dispute instead. A dispute lets you attach evidence, and the decision comes within a set time.
• If you do not use Rated, write to legal@rated.tg.
• False reports and mass reports are a violation.

Details are in "Disputes and Complaints".

10. What happens if you break the rules

Measures get stricter step by step:

• a review or reply is edited or deleted;
• a single feature is limited: writing reviews, marking reviews "helpful", opening disputes;
• a manipulation notice appears on the project page if the owner ordered it;
• the account and any linked accounts are blocked.

We consider how serious the violation is and whether it is repeated. For a serious violation, such as fake proof, we may block right away. The reason is always sent to the bot. You can appeal through support, as described in "Disputes and Complaints".