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Real reviews

Last updated: 29 September 2026

ShineLists is built on honest, authentic recommendations. This page explains where our numbers come from, what “verified on site” means — and, just as honestly: what we do not check.

The short version

  • Reviews come from registered users and must be based on first-hand experience.
  • Visits can be “verified on site” via the device location: a badge, not proof.
  • Rates (“4 of 5 would order it again”) and ranking spots come solely from what users state — none of it is for sale, and the number behind them is always shown.
  • We do not pre-check every review. We follow up on reports, and a human always decides.

Who reviews here

Only registered users can post reviews and recommendations. An entry is a user's personal verdict on a place; visits (“check-ins”) can be added any number of times. Behind every review there is an account — not an anonymous crowd.

Under our Terms (section 6), reviews must be based on a real, first-hand experience. Bought, fake or commissioned reviews are prohibited; any business relationship (own products, sponsorship, consideration) must be disclosed.

“Verified on site”

When checking in, the device can share its location. If it is close enough to the place, the visit carries the “verified on site” badge. It is a badge, not proof — a browser location can technically be spoofed. But it is an honest signal that a bare claim does not have.

We only store the distance to the publicly known place and the reported accuracy — no coordinates, no movement history.

Older visits without the badge are not less credible: the check simply did not exist back then. That is why we only show “verified on site” where it is true, and never downgrade visits without it.

What we do not check

Transparency under Sec. 5b(3) of the German Unfair Competition Act (UWG): We do not check every single review in advance and individually for authenticity. Reviews are posted by users themselves and must be labelled by origin (e.g. bought myself, free sample, sponsored).

Commercial links (e.g. partner links to shops, stays, restaurant reservations or activities) are labelled as ads. They have no influence on how reviews, rates or rankings come about.

How rates and ranking spots come about

The reorder rate at a place (“4 of 5 would order it again”) tallies the answers users gave about a dish during their visits. There are no star averages across strangers: every answer counts individually, and we always show how many answers a rate is based on — “1 of 1” is an honest statement, “100%” would be misleading.

Spots in personal rankings (“#2 of 10”) are assigned by each user in their own lists. The public cuisine rankings of a city (“The best Italian restaurants in Hamburg”), by contrast, are calculated from the public reviews: each one counts with its stars; without stars, the verdict counts (Recommended 5, Neutral 4, Flop 1). Places with few votes stay close to the middle until more people have been there. Such a list is only called “The best …” once it has three rated places; below that we show first recommendations without rank numbers.

We do not sell spots, rates or badges. Advertising on ShineLists is labelled as such and kept separate from reviews, rates and rankings.

Something is off? Report it.

We follow up on reports of fake or inadmissible reviews through our reporting and moderation process (Terms, section 9) and label, restrict or remove affected reviews. A human always decides on reports and moderation measures; you can lodge an informal complaint against our decisions.