Community Guidelines.

EchoPulse Basics.

The short version — everything else in these guidelines is built on these three principles.

• Be real — only review what you personally experienced
• Be fair — honest criticism is welcome, harassment and dishonesty are not
• Be a neighbor — treat businesses, freelancers, and community members with respect

Reviews on EchoPulse represent the personal experiences and opinions of individual users. They do not represent the views of EchoPulse. EchoPulse is a platform for sharing personal experiences and opinions. Reviews reflect the views of individual users and should not be interpreted as verified statements of fact by EchoPulse.

Why these guidelines exist.

EchoPulse is built on a simple idea: the best local recommendations come from real people in your community — neighbors who have actually been to that restaurant, hired that plumber, or sent their kid to that summer camp.

That trust is the whole point. Without it, EchoPulse is just another app with reviews you can't believe. With it, EchoPulse becomes the most useful thing on your phone when you're trying to make a local decision.

These guidelines exist to protect that trust. They explain what we expect from everyone on EchoPulse — reviewers, merchants, and community members — and what happens when those expectations aren't met.

Three things we ask of everyone:

• Be real. Your reviews should reflect your actual experience.
• Be fair. Criticism is fine. Cruelty, harassment, and dishonesty are not.
• Be a neighbor. Treat businesses, freelancers, and community members the way you'd want to be treated.

Writing reviews.

Write from your own experience

Every review on EchoPulse should be based on something you personally experienced. That's what makes it valuable to the person reading it.

• Write about places you've actually visited, services you've actually used, or providers you've actually hired.
• Don't review a business you've never interacted with — not even to support a friend's business or hurt a competitor.
• Don't write reviews based on what other people told you, something you read online, or second-hand accounts.

If you haven't personally experienced it, don't review it. There's no shame in using 'No Opinion' — that's what it's there for.

Be specific and honest

The best reviews give other people the information they actually need to make a decision.

• Describe what happened. What did you order, hire, or experience? What was good or bad about it?
• Include relevant details — was it a one-time visit or a long-term relationship? Was the issue something that could be a bad day, or a consistent pattern?
• Be honest even when it's positive. Gushing reviews with no detail aren't much more useful than vague negative ones.

Whisper ratings are personal opinions

The Whisper rating you give — from Perfect to Skip This — reflects your personal experience and opinion. It is not a verified fact.

• 'Skip This' means: based on my experience, I would not recommend this to a neighbor. It does not mean the business is fraudulent, dangerous, or universally bad.
• Your rating is protected as personal opinion as long as it's genuinely based on your own experience. Ratings that are fabricated or coordinated are not protected — and are a violation of these guidelines.
• If you're unsure how you feel about something, use 'No Opinion' rather than forcing a rating you don't stand behind.

Rate what you experienced, not what you wish had happened or what someone else told you. Your rating is your voice — use it honestly.

What makes a review problematic

What you can and can't post.

Content we welcome

• Honest reviews of local businesses, restaurants, service providers, doctors, and freelancers
• Photos that are your own, taken yourself or with clear permission to share
• Recommendations for local activities, family resources, kids programs, and community events
• Text posts sharing local knowledge, tips, or community questions
• Constructive criticism — even strongly worded — when it reflects a real experience

Content that is not allowed

Rules for merchants & freelancers.

Verified Businesses and Verified Freelancers have a presence on EchoPulse that gives them visibility, credibility, and the ability to respond to reviews. That comes with specific responsibilities.

What merchants can do

• Claim and maintain a verified profile with accurate business information
• Respond to reviews posted about their business or services
• Create organic posts in relevant categories to share information about their business
• Run sponsored posts to reach neighbors in their area (clearly labeled as Sponsored)

What merchants cannot do

• Delete, edit, hide, or otherwise suppress reviews posted by community members — even negative ones
• Post fake reviews of their own business, whether from personal accounts, employee accounts, or coordinated third parties
• Solicit, incentivize, or compensate customers for reviews without clear public disclosure
• Use sponsored posts to misrepresent their services or make claims they cannot support
• Harass or threaten reviewers who post negative reviews — this is grounds for immediate removal
• Claim a business listing they do not own or have authority to represent

Merchants who receive negative reviews are encouraged to respond professionally and constructively. A good merchant response to a bad review often builds more trust than a page of five-star ratings.

How to write a good review response

• Acknowledge the reviewer's experience even if you disagree with their assessment
• Provide factual context or corrections if the review contains inaccuracies
• Avoid defensive or dismissive language — other readers are watching how you handle criticism
• Don't use your response to attack the reviewer personally or question their motives
• Keep it under 300 characters — short and professional is more effective than lengthy justifications

Sponsored content

Sponsored posts are clearly labeled 'Sponsored' in the feed and are never mixed with or presented as organic community reviews. Your merchant badge remains visible on sponsored posts. Sponsored status has no influence on how your organic reviews are ranked, displayed, or moderated — these are completely separate systems.

Community behavior.

In comments and group chats

• Be respectful — disagree with ideas, not people
• Stay on topic — category-specific content belongs in category-specific spaces
• Don't recruit members away from EchoPulse to other platforms or services
• Group chat creators are responsible for the tone and content of their groups

Following and connections

• Don't use follow/unfollow in bulk to manipulate visibility or game the algorithm
• Don't send unsolicited commercial messages through DMs
• Block and report — don't retaliate against — accounts that harass you

Flagging content

The community flagging system is a tool for protecting content quality — not a weapon. Use it when you genuinely believe a post violates these guidelines.

• Flag reasons: Fake Review, Looks Like an Ad, Spam, Inappropriate
• Don't organize coordinated flagging campaigns against a business or individual
• Don't flag content simply because you disagree with the rating or opinion expressed
• Abuse of the flagging system is itself a violation of these guidelines

Kids & family content.

The Kids & Family tab is one of EchoPulse's most important features and requires extra care. Parents are making decisions that directly affect their children's safety and wellbeing.

• All content in Kids & Family categories should be appropriate for a family audience
• Reviews of schools, daycares, pediatricians, and children's programs carry serious weight — be accurate and fair
• Do not post identifying photos of other people's children without their parent's explicit consent
• Do not post information about specific children — names, schools, activities — in public posts
• Reviews of professionals in children's services (doctors, tutors, coaches) are held to the same standards as all reviews — based on personal experience, factually honest, and not defamatory

A bad review of a pediatrician or a summer camp can have real consequences for that provider. Make sure your review reflects what you actually experienced, and be specific enough that other parents can evaluate whether your experience is likely to be theirs.

Enforcement.

How we handle violations

Moderation decisions are made in good faith and consistent with these guidelines. EchoPulse may remove or restrict content that violates these guidelines or poses risk to the community, even if the specific violation is not explicitly listed here.

EchoPulse may prioritize moderation of content that poses risk to user safety, involves minors, or may create legal exposure.

EchoPulse may use automated systems to detect spam, abuse, or fake reviews. Automated actions may be reviewed and reversed on request — contact support@echopulseapp.com if you believe an automated action was applied incorrectly.

If you believe a moderation action was applied in error, you may contact us at support@echopulseapp.com.

What we won't do

• Remove negative reviews simply because a merchant asks us to
• Favor merchants who advertise with us in moderation decisions — sponsored status is never a factor in review moderation
• Share the identity of anonymous flaggers with the person whose content was flagged
• Guarantee the outcome of any moderation review — all decisions are made on a case-by-case basis

Questions & reporting.

If you have a question about these guidelines, want to report a violation, or believe a moderation decision was made in error:

• Use the in-app flag or report button on any post
• Email us at support@echopulseapp.com
• For merchant-specific issues or verification questions, use the merchant support form in your merchant dashboard

These guidelines are a living document. As EchoPulse grows, we will update them to reflect what the community needs. Last updated: March 2026.