Firefox starts sniffing out fake Amazon product reviews

With Mozilla’s takeover of the online service Fakespot, a new security feature will soon find its way into the Firefox browser. With “Review Checker”, Firefox users will in future be able to check whether a product review is fake or genuine.

Grading from A to F

Fakespot’s technology will be integrated into the Mozilla browser as a new Review Checker feature. The tool grades whether product reviews come from real customers or were possibly written for payment or to artificially pump up overall review ratings. The product reviews will be rated by the Review Checker with grades ranging from A to F. A and B stand for “reliable reviews,” while “unreliable reviews” are graded with D and F. Product reviews with a murky grade of C fall in between.

In its current test stage, Review Checker is currently only compatible with the US websites of Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart. Here, a small price tag symbol is displayed at the top of the browser. When you click it, all reviews on the product page are checked and graded from A to F. You should be able to see all reviews at a glance, and thus be able to see at a glance whether the reviews on the page are reliable or not.

Release in November

According to Mozilla, the new feature respects the privacy of users. By using Oblivious HTTP (OHTTP), the products are not linked to the users’ devices. Mozilla also says Review Checker should not have a negative impact on browser performance. The Review Checker feature is scheduled to be released on November 21, 2023, with Firefox version 120 for Android and as a desktop application for all users.

This article was translated from German to English and originally appeared on pcwelt.de.