Managing Reviews in Admin

Learn how to approve, edit, and moderate member reviews from your WordPress admin panel.

Accessing Reviews

Go to Reviews > All Reviews in your WordPress admin menu. This displays all reviews submitted on your site.

Reviews List Columns

The reviews list displays these columns:

Column	Description
Title	Review title or first line of content
Reports	Flag count and status label (e.g., “3 flags – Flagged”)
Author	Member who wrote the review
Date	When the review was submitted

Review Statuses

Reviews use standard WordPress post statuses:

Draft (Pending Approval)

Awaiting admin approval
Not visible on member profiles
Displayed when Auto Approve is disabled

Published (Approved)

Visible on member profiles
Appears in activity stream (if enabled)
Counts toward member ratings
Default status when auto-approve is enabled

Trash

Moved to trash (recoverable for 30 days)
Not visible anywhere on site
Permanently deleted after 30 days
Can be restored before permanent deletion

Filtering Reviews

Use the filter options at the top of the list:

By Status (view tabs):

All (default)
Published
Draft
Trash
Reported – A dedicated view tab that shows only flagged reviews, with a count badge showing the number of reported reviews

By Date:

All dates (default)
Specific month and year

Draft Count Badge:

When Auto Approve is disabled, a count badge appears next to the Reviews admin menu item showing the number of pending (draft) reviews. This provides at-a-glance visibility into how many reviews are awaiting approval.

Approving Reviews

Single Review Approval

Locate the pending review in the list
Hover over the review title
Click Approve in the action links
The review status changes to Approved

Quick Edit Method:

Click Quick Edit under the review title
Change Status to Published
Click Update

Bulk Approval

Approve multiple reviews at once:

Check the boxes next to reviews you want to approve
Select Edit from the Bulk Actions dropdown
Click Apply
In the bulk edit panel, change Status to Published
Click Update

Editing Reviews

Full Edit

Click the review title or Edit link
Modify the review content, rating, or other fields
Change status if needed
Click Update

Editable Fields:

Review content
Star rating
Criteria ratings (if multiple criteria enabled)
Status (Draft, Published)
Reviewed member (reassign to different member)
Date submitted

Note: You cannot change the review author from the edit screen.

Quick Edit

For faster changes:

Hover over the review title
Click Quick Edit
Modify available fields (status, reviewed member, rating)
Click Update

Handling Reported Reviews

When members flag reviews as inappropriate, they appear with a report indicator.

Reviewing Reported Reviews

Report Indicator:

Reviews with reports show a red flag icon and number in the Reports column.

Viewing Reports:

Click the review title to edit
Scroll to the Reports meta box
View all reports with:

Report Actions

1. Dismiss Reports (Keep Review Visible)

If the review is acceptable:

Keep status as Approved
Click Dismiss All Reports in the Reports meta box
The review remains visible
Report count resets to zero

2. Revert Review to Draft

If the review needs investigation:

Change status to Draft
The review disappears from member profiles
Reports remain visible in admin
You can publish it again later

3. Delete Review

If the review violates guidelines:

Click Move to Trash
The review is removed from profiles
Recoverable from Trash for 30 days
Permanently deleted after 30 days

4. Edit Review Content

If the review has minor issues:

Edit the review content directly
Remove offensive language or inappropriate content
Keep status as Approved
Optionally dismiss reports

Auto-Hide Threshold

Reviews automatically hide when they reach the Flag Threshold set in Settings > BP Member Review > General.

Default: 5 flags

What Happens:

Review status changes to Draft automatically
Review disappears from member profile
Review remains in admin for review

To Restore:

Review the flagged content
If acceptable, change status to Published
Dismiss reports
The review reappears on the profile

Managing Owner Replies

When Enable Review Owner Reply is enabled in settings, profile owners can respond to reviews. Admins can view, edit, or delete these replies from the admin panel. See Owner Replies for complete documentation on this feature.

Bulk Actions

Perform actions on multiple reviews at once:

Available Bulk Actions

Edit

Change status for multiple reviews
Modify dates

Move to Trash

Delete multiple reviews at once
Recoverable for 30 days

Dismiss Reports

Dismiss all reports on selected reviews
Resets flag count and status to “none”
Reviews remain published and visible

Resolve Reports

Mark reports on selected reviews as resolved
Sets flag status to “resolved”
Reviews remain in their current status

Restore (when viewing Trash)

Restore multiple trashed reviews
Returns reviews to previous status

Delete Permanently (when viewing Trash)

Permanently delete multiple reviews
Cannot be undone

Using Bulk Actions

Check boxes next to reviews you want to modify
Select action from Bulk Actions dropdown
Click Apply
Confirm if prompted

Pro Tip: Use filters to narrow down reviews before bulk actions (e.g., filter by “Pending” status, then bulk approve).

Review Data Fields

Understanding all review data stored in the database:

Core Fields:

Review content (text)
Overall star rating (1-5)
Reviewed member ID
Review author ID
Submission date
Status (draft, published)

Multi-Criteria Fields (if enabled):

Individual criterion ratings
Criterion names
Average rating calculation

Metadata:

Anonymous flag (if submitted anonymously)
Activity post ID (if posted to activity stream)
Report count and data
Owner reply content and date
Last modified date

Aggregate Ratings

Member aggregate ratings (overall ratings shown on profiles) update automatically when:

A review is approved
A review rating is changed
A review is deleted or trashed
A review status changes

Rating Recalculation

Aggregate ratings recalculate automatically whenever reviews are approved, edited, deleted, or have their status changed. No manual recalculation tool is needed.

Best Practices

Moderation Guidelines

Respond Quickly:

Review pending submissions within 24-48 hours
Address reported reviews promptly
Notify members if their review is rejected

Be Consistent:

Apply the same standards to all reviews
Document your moderation policy
Train multiple moderators on guidelines

Communicate Clearly:

Explain why reviews are rejected (if you contact the reviewer)
Create public review guidelines
Set clear expectations for appropriate content

Preventing Spam

Enable Approval:

Disable Auto Approve for tighter control
Review submissions before they go live
Watch for patterns in spam reviews

Monitor Reports:

Check flagged reviews regularly
Look for repeat offenders
Block or ban users who repeatedly violate guidelines

Use Role Restrictions:

Exclude problematic roles from reviewing
Protect administrator profiles from reviews
Limit new user review permissions

Handling Disputes

Investigate Thoroughly:

Read both the review and any replies
Check the reviewer’s history
Look for context in member interactions

Stay Neutral:

Don’t take sides in personal disputes
Focus on guideline violations, not opinions
Allow negative reviews if they’re honest and appropriate

Document Decisions:

Keep notes on why reviews were removed
Track repeat issues with specific members
Use notes field in user profiles

Communication:

Email members privately about removed reviews
Provide clear reasons for moderation actions
Offer appeal process for disputed decisions

Troubleshooting

Reviews not appearing after approval

Check that:

Review status is set to Approved
The reviewed member still exists
Cache is cleared (if using caching plugin)
Theme is BuddyPress compatible

Rating count doesn’t match review count

This can happen when:

Some reviews are in Draft (pending) status
Reviews are in Trash

Aggregate ratings recalculate automatically when review statuses change. If counts still seem off, check that no reviews are stuck in Draft or Trash status.

Can’t edit or delete reviews

Verify:

You have Administrator or Editor role
The review exists in the database
No JavaScript errors in browser console
WordPress and plugin are up to date

Reports not showing