Terms of Use

By accessing HonestRemarks — whether as a visitor, registered user, verified reviewer, or profile subject — you agree to these Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy and Content Guidelines. If you do not agree, you must not use the platform.

We reserve the right to update these terms at any time. Continued use of the platform after a change constitutes acceptance of the updated terms. Material changes will be announced on the platform with reasonable notice.

These terms constitute a binding legal agreement between you and HonestRemarks. If you are using the platform on behalf of an organisation, you represent that you have authority to bind that organisation to these terms.

HonestRemarks is a professional reference platform. Access to post accounts is restricted to verified professionals who meet all of the following criteria:

• Professional role. You must be a current or former professor, lecturer, department head, employer, HR professional, or hold an equivalent role that placed you in a position of direct professional oversight of the person you are reviewing.
• Direct experience. You must have worked with, supervised, employed, or taught the person directly. You may not post accounts based on hearsay, reputation, or the experience of others.
• Verified identity. You must complete our identity and credential verification process before posting any account. Verification records are retained securely and are not published.
• Age. You must be at least 18 years old.

Any user — including those who have not verified — may view published profiles and accounts, claim a profile, post a right-of-reply response, vote on accounts, or file a dispute, subject to creating a basic account.

We reserve the right to refuse, suspend, or terminate access for any user who provides false information during verification, violates these terms, or whose use of the platform we determine to be contrary to the interests of the community.

The following are prohibited on HonestRemarks. Violations may result in content removal, account suspension, and where applicable, referral to relevant authorities.

This platform is designed to provide professional context and community accountability — not to serve as an employment screening tool. Employers who use content from this platform as part of a hiring decision may violate federal law. HonestRemarks expressly prohibits such use in these terms and disclaims any liability arising from a user's unlawful reliance on platform content.

If you are an employer or HR professional and you are considering using accounts from this platform as part of a hiring process, you must obtain independent legal advice before doing so. By using this platform, you agree that you will not use any information obtained here for any FCRA- covered purpose.

We take the privacy of verified reviewers seriously. We do not publish reviewer names or email addresses alongside their accounts. However, we make the following disclosures so that reviewers understand the honest limits of our anonymity protections:

By submitting an account, you acknowledge these limitations and accept the risk that your identity may be disclosed in the circumstances described above. If you have concerns about your specific situation, consult a legal adviser before posting.

Profile subjects who have claimed their profile may file a formal dispute against any published account. The dispute process is governed by our Content Guidelines.

We review all disputes within 48 hours. Our review assesses whether the account violates our guidelines — not whether the subject disagrees with its factual content. Accounts that comply with our guidelines will be upheld even if the subject contests them. We may uphold, annotate, or remove an account at our sole discretion.

We also reserve the right to remove any account at any time, with or without a dispute being filed, where we determine that removal is necessary to comply with applicable law, to protect the rights of any person, or where continued publication is otherwise contrary to the interests of the platform.

Removed accounts are retained in our records in a non-public state for legal compliance purposes. We do not guarantee permanent deletion of content from our systems.

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law:

Nothing in these terms limits liability that cannot be excluded by applicable law, including liability for fraud, fraudulent misrepresentation, or death or personal injury caused by negligence.

These terms are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the jurisdiction in which HonestRemarks is incorporated, without regard to its conflict-of-law principles.

Any dispute arising out of or in connection with these terms that cannot be resolved informally shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of that jurisdiction, unless applicable law requires otherwise.

If any provision of these terms is found to be invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions shall continue in full force and effect.