How moderation works
OnTrace is only worth something if reviews and comments are right. This page says what we expect, who decides, how content is examined, and how to appeal a decision.
Last updated: 24 October 2026
This is a translation for convenience. The French version of this text is the one that applies, and prevails in case of any difference.
What we expect
A public review says the state of a place as you saw it. A group comment helps the people preparing the same trace. We remove what helps nobody, or what harms:
- insults, threats, harassment, discriminatory or hateful words, any illegal content
- advertising, soliciting, commercial links unrelated to the place
- personal information about other people
- information you know to be false, or written to mislead (a water point wrongly reported dry can turn someone away from a real source)
- content that infringes the rights of others
Who moderates, and with what tools
People: moderators and administrators, who only see what is flagged to them (a group’s private comments are only shown to them if flagged). Every decision is written to a log.
Automatic rules help spot problems, they never decide alone:
- a review containing a link, an e-mail address or a phone number is flagged to the team, and stays online until it decides
- a review containing a term from the watch list is flagged, or held for human review before it is posted
No account is suspended and no content deleted for good unless a person decided it.
Reporting content
If you have an account, the “Report” button under a review or a comment alerts the team, with the reason you choose. Without an account, or for illegal content, the Report content form is open to everyone. Reporting wrongly in good faith is no problem. Reporting in bulk to harm someone breaks the rules itself.
What can happen
| Decision | What it means |
|---|---|
| No action | The content follows the rules. The flag is closed. |
| Content hidden | It is no longer visible to the public. It is kept, and can be put back online. |
| Contributions suspended | You can no longer post public reviews for 24 hours, 7 days, 30 days, or until the team decides otherwise. The rest of the service stays usable. |
| Forced sign-out | Your sessions are closed, to protect an account for example. |
| Account closed | Kept for serious or repeated abuse. |
You are always told
When one of your reviews or comments is hidden, or your contributions are suspended, you get a notification in the app (“Notifications”, in the account menu), and an e-mail, with the reason and how to appeal. The same goes when a decision is cancelled.
Appealing a decision
From the notification, the “Appeal this decision” button lets you explain why you think the decision is a mistake. Your request is examined by another member of the team than the one who decided (unless they are an administrator, who can settle it alone). You get the answer, with its reasons:
- if the appeal is accepted, the decision is cancelled (content back online, suspension lifted)
- if it is rejected, the decision stands, and you are told why
A decision can be appealed once: if the same content is hidden again later, you can appeal that new decision. In any case, you can still go to court, and turn to the CNIL for your personal data.
Your data in moderation
The moderation log keeps what was decided, by whom and when. If you delete your account, your name in it is replaced with “Deleted account”. See the privacy policy.