About
Fakespot is an AI-powered browser extension and mobile app designed to protect online shoppers from misleading and fake product reviews. Using natural language processing and machine learning, Fakespot analyzes review patterns, reviewer behaviors, and linguistic signals to assign authenticity grades (A through F) to both product reviews and sellers on platforms such as Amazon, Walmart, eBay, Sephora, and Yelp. Acquired by Mozilla in 2023, Fakespot was built around a privacy-first philosophy, meaning it didn't sell user data while helping shoppers cut through the noise of manipulated reviews. The tool provided at-a-glance report cards directly within the shopping experience via its browser extension, allowing users to make smarter decisions without leaving the product page. Fakespot also offered a dedicated website where users could paste product URLs to receive a detailed breakdown of review quality, flagged suspicious reviews, and an overall trust score. Mobile apps for iOS and Android extended this functionality to on-the-go shoppers. The platform was particularly valuable for consumers researching high-value purchases, frequent online shoppers, and anyone looking to validate seller reputations. It also integrated directly into Firefox as 'Review Checker.' Mozilla announced in May 2025 that Fakespot would be discontinued on July 1, 2025, as part of a broader strategic refocus on core Firefox features.
Key Features
- AI-Powered Review Analysis: Uses machine learning and NLP to evaluate the authenticity of product reviews, flagging patterns associated with fake or incentivized submissions.
- Seller & Product Grading: Assigns letter grades (A–F) to both sellers and product review sets, giving shoppers an instant trust signal before purchasing.
- Browser Extension Integration: Works directly inside your browser on supported shopping sites, surfacing Fakespot grades without requiring you to leave the product page.
- Multi-Platform E-Commerce Support: Supports major platforms including Amazon, Walmart, eBay, Sephora, and Yelp, covering a wide range of online shopping and service review scenarios.
- Privacy-First Design: Built on a no-data-selling model aligned with Mozilla's privacy principles, keeping user shopping behavior private.
Use Cases
- Verifying the authenticity of product reviews before making a high-value purchase on Amazon or Walmart.
- Checking seller reliability scores to avoid fraudulent or low-quality marketplace vendors.
- Evaluating restaurant or service reviews on Yelp to distinguish genuine customer feedback from fake ratings.
- Using the browser extension for real-time review grading while browsing e-commerce product pages.
- Researching product quality by filtering out incentivized or bot-generated review noise.
Pros
- Completely Free to Use: Fakespot offered full review analysis at no cost, with no paywalled tiers limiting core functionality.
- Seamless Browser Integration: The browser extension and Firefox's built-in Review Checker made it effortless to check review authenticity without disrupting the shopping flow.
- Broad Platform Coverage: Supported multiple major e-commerce and review sites, making it useful across a wide range of everyday shopping scenarios.
Cons
- Shutting Down July 1, 2025: Mozilla announced discontinuation of Fakespot as of July 1, 2025, making it unavailable for new or existing users after that date.
- Limited to Supported Platforms: Fakespot only worked on a predefined list of e-commerce sites, leaving out smaller or niche marketplaces.
- No Guarantee of Complete Accuracy: As with any AI review classifier, there was a possibility of false positives or missed fake reviews, especially for sophisticated manipulation campaigns.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Fakespot?
Fakespot is an AI-powered tool that detects fake and unreliable product reviews on major e-commerce platforms like Amazon, Walmart, and Yelp, helping consumers make better-informed purchasing decisions.
How does Fakespot detect fake reviews?
Fakespot uses machine learning and natural language processing to analyze review patterns, reviewer history, language signals, and behavioral anomalies to determine whether reviews appear authentic or manipulated.
Is Fakespot free?
Yes, Fakespot was entirely free to use, available as a browser extension, mobile app, and website with no subscription required.
When is Fakespot shutting down?
Mozilla announced that Fakespot will shut down on July 1, 2025. The Firefox Review Checker integration will shut down earlier, on June 10, 2025.
Which e-commerce platforms did Fakespot support?
Fakespot supported review analysis on Amazon, Walmart, eBay, Sephora, Yelp, and several other major online shopping and review platforms.
