Facebook Recommendations: The Complete Guide for Businesses

By the Expert Reputation team · Updated September 30, 2026

Facebook business Pages use recommendations rather than the classic star reviews: a person answers Yes or No to "Do you recommend this business?" and writes a short post explaining why. Those public recommendations roll up into your Page's rating. Unlike Google and Yelp, Facebook lets you turn recommendations off entirely, which also removes your rating and reviews from the Page.

Why Facebook recommendations matter

Many customers check a business's Facebook Page for hours, photos, and posts, and the Reviews section sits on that same Page. For a chiropractor, landscaper, or auto detailer with an active Facebook following, recommendations are social proof in a place where customers' friends can see them. Because recommendations can be shared with limited audiences, they also spread through personal networks in a way a Google review doesn't.

How Facebook recommendations work

Facebook's help center describes the process for the person leaving a recommendation:

1. Go to the business's Page.
2. Click Reviews.
3. Click Yes to recommend the Page or No to not recommend it.
4. Select the audience.
5. Write the recommendation and click Post.

Facebook's guidance to reviewers is to "Focus on the product or service offered by the business" and "Base it on personal experience." It also says: "You should not leave a recommendation for a business if you help manage its Page."

Recommendations vs. older star reviews

Facebook's help pages still refer to "reviews," and some older reviews on Pages consist of a star rating only. Facebook notes that "Recommendations that only include a star rating can't be reported." Facebook also says that if a Page previously had reviews, Recommendations have been automatically turned on.

How your rating and review count are calculated

According to Facebook:

• A Page's rating is based on the reviews and recommendations people share about it.
• A Page needs recommendations turned on and at least 5 reviews to display a rating.
• Only public recommendations count. If someone shares a recommendation with just their friends, only those friends see it, and it doesn't contribute to the public rating. Public reviews show a globe icon next to the date.
• Review counts vary by viewer. Someone in a reviewer's custom audience may see a higher count than you do. As a Page admin, you see only the public count, which is the one used for your recommendation score.
• Spam is removed automatically. Reviews that violate Facebook's spam policies are removed, so your rating may change when that happens.
• No purchase check. "We do not verify whether users have purchased the product or used the service they are reviewing or recommending on Facebook Pages."

"Business reviews" from ads are a separate feature

Facebook also has business reviews, which are separate from Page recommendations. They're generated when someone buys from a business they found through a Facebook ad, and Facebook may ask them to rate the purchase. Facebook says these are only available in the Facebook app for iPhone and Android, that businesses can respond to them but cannot edit or delete them, and that they're only removed if they violate the Community Standards.

Should you turn Facebook recommendations off?

Facebook lets you switch recommendations off. The steps in Facebook's help center:

1. Log in to Facebook, click your profile photo, click See all profiles, and switch into your Page.
2. Click your Page's profile photo, then Settings & privacy, then Settings.
3. Click Page and tagging.
4. Toggle Allow others to view and leave reviews on your Page? on or off.

Facebook states that "Turning Recommendations off will disable Recommendations and remove the rating and reviews from your Page." That includes the positive ones.

Think it through before you switch it off. If most of your recommendations are positive, hiding them removes useful social proof. Turning them off can make sense for a Page that isn't the main customer-facing profile, or when you can't monitor it. Turning them off to hide criticism doesn't change what customers say on Google, Yelp, or elsewhere, and a missing Reviews section can look odd to visitors.

How to get more Facebook recommendations (within the rules)

The Facebook help pages we reviewed don't address whether a business may invite customers to leave a recommendation, and we found no rule against a neutral invitation. The same compliance limits apply here as everywhere else:

• No incentives. Meta's Spam policy prohibits "offering to provide anything of monetary value in exchange for engagement" and buying, selling, or exchanging engagement.
• No insiders. Facebook says people who help manage a Page shouldn't recommend it. Employees, relatives, and business partners shouldn't post recommendations either.
• No gating. Invite every customer the same way instead of screening for happy ones first.

The FTC's Trade Regulation Rule on the Use of Consumer Reviews and Testimonials (16 CFR Part 465, effective October 21, 2024) bans fake reviews, paying for reviews that express a particular sentiment, undisclosed insider reviews, and review suppression. It applies no matter which platform the review is on. See our guide to review incentives and FTC compliance.

Simple, compliant ways to invite recommendations: mention it in a follow-up message sent to every customer, add a link to your Page's Reviews section in your email signature, or post an occasional reminder on your Page asking customers to share their honest experience.

How to respond to Facebook recommendations

Facebook's help center doesn't currently have a dedicated article on replying to recommendations. It does cover replying to comments on your Page's posts: you can reply publicly, or reply with a direct message, in which case "anyone can see that your Page has responded privately below the comment." If your Page shows a reply option on a recommendation, the same approach works well: a short public reply, then a private conversation for anything detailed.

Whatever the format, reply as the Page (not your personal profile), keep it brief, and never argue specifics in public.

Example reply (landscaping, "No" recommendation):

Thanks for telling us about this. We're sorry the cleanup wasn't what you expected. We'd like to come back and take a look. Please send us a message or call [Phone]. — [Business Name]

Example reply (healthcare, any recommendation):

Thank you for your feedback. We'd welcome the chance to talk with you directly. Please call our office at [Phone] and ask for our practice manager. — [Business Name]

On Facebook, the reviewer's name and profile are visible, so healthcare practices need to be especially careful. The reply must not confirm the person is a patient or mention any appointment, treatment, or health detail, even if the reviewer mentions them. The same applies to private messages from the Page. More templates are in how to respond to negative reviews.

What Facebook will and won't remove

Facebook reviews reported recommendations against its Community Standards and "may remove Recommendations that don't follow our standards." The Community Standards include policies on spam, bullying and harassment, hateful conduct, violence and incitement, privacy violations, and inauthentic behavior.

Facebook makes these decisions. No one, including Expert Reputation, can guarantee a removal. Be wary of anyone who says otherwise. See review removal scams.

How to report a Facebook recommendation, step by step

1. On your Page, click Reviews under Details, below the cover photo.
2. Click See all next to Recent reviews.
3. Click Options (the three dots) in the top right corner of the recommendation.
4. Select Report post.
5. Follow the on-screen instructions and choose the reason that fits.

Facebook notes that if you can no longer find a recommendation you saw before, it "may have been removed or the person who posted it may have changed the audience for the post."

If Facebook doesn't remove it

If a reported recommendation stays up:

• Reply calmly and invite the person to contact you privately.
• Keep earning genuine recommendations so one complaint is surrounded by recent, real experiences.
• If you believe a recommendation is false and damaging, talk to an attorney. This is general information, not legal advice, and laws vary by state.

Common Facebook mistakes

• Asking staff or family to recommend the Page. Facebook says Page managers shouldn't, and undisclosed insider reviews are covered by the FTC rule.
• Running "recommend us to win" giveaways. Meta's Spam policy prohibits offering anything of monetary value in exchange for engagement.
• Turning recommendations off in a panic. It removes your positive reviews and rating too.
• Replying from a personal profile instead of the Page, or arguing in public.
• Confirming patient relationships in healthcare replies.
• Forgetting audience settings. You won't see recommendations shared only with a reviewer's friends, so your public count may not match what some customers see.

Facebook recommendations are one part of your online presence. To check that your Facebook, Google, and directory listings show consistent business information, try our Free Listings Scan. For platform-specific rules, see the Google reviews guide and the Yelp guide.