What Bark Will Actually Remove — and What It Won’t
Bark’s own guidance is that it does not remove reviews simply because they’re negative. Here’s what does qualify under its Banned Reviews Policy, and how the reporting and appeal process actually works.
Yes, in specific cases — Bark removes reviews that violate its Banned Reviews Policy: reviews that don’t reflect a genuine experience (including a pro reviewing themselves, reviews from people who never interacted with the pro, or bot-generated content), reviews tied to an incentive that wasn’t disclosed, and reviews containing offensive or abusive language, hate speech, exposed personal data, spam, or promotional content. Bark’s own guidance states it does not remove a review simply because it’s negative or a pro disagrees with it.
What qualifies for removal
- The review doesn’t reflect a genuine experience — posted by the pro themselves, by someone who never interacted with the pro, or generated by a bot
- The reviewer received compensation for the review that wasn’t disclosed
- The content includes offensive or abusive language, hate speech, or discriminatory content
- The review exposes personal data
- The content is spam or unrelated promotional material
Frequently asked questions
Use the report function on the review itself. Bark’s Customer Experience team assesses whether it violates the Banned Reviews Policy and takes action where warranted — a warning, suspension, or in severe or systematic cases (including fraud), a permanent ban on the reviewer or account involved.
Bark’s separate Complaints Handling Procedure covers account suspensions, content removal, and disputes between parties more broadly. It requires 14 days of attempted direct resolution first, then a formal complaint to team@bark.com describing the nature of the complaint, the parties and content involved, and what’s already been tried — Bark aims to review within 7 days.
Bark’s stated policy allows a written appeal within 30 days of the decision, with supporting evidence, sent to Bark’s Escalations Team. If the decision involved a warning or suspension on your own account, you can also reply directly to the original notification email within that same 30-day window.