How To Remove Reviews From Shopify

Introduction

Many merchants feel the weight of "app fatigue" when every new feature requires installing another solution, patching code, and juggling settings across multiple platforms. Reviews are especially tricky: they live in dashboards, theme files, third-party widgets, sales channels, and even search snippets. Removing reviews from a Shopify store can be straightforward or surprisingly complex depending on where they originate.

Short answer: You remove reviews by identifying their source, then taking action in that system or the theme that displays them. That can mean unpublishing or deleting reviews inside a reviews solution, removing review code snippets or scripts from your theme, hiding elements with CSS as a temporary fix, and—when reviews come from sales channels like Shop—managing or removing the product from that channel. Always back up your theme before editing code and consider alternatives like hiding or moderating reviews rather than deleting them outright.

In this article we’ll walk through every realistic scenario you’ll encounter when trying to remove reviews from a Shopify store. We’ll explain how to find where reviews are coming from, provide step-by-step instructions for each removal method, cover SEO and schema considerations, troubleshoot common problems, and show how a single retention solution can replace multiple tools so you don’t need to repeat this process in the future. Throughout, we’ll connect these actions to ways to regain control of reviews while preserving growth and credibility—our mission at Growave is to turn retention into a growth engine while helping merchants reduce tool sprawl with a "More Growth, Less Stack" approach. You can compare plans that scale with your needs at any time by exploring our available options (compare Growave plans).

Why Merchants Want To Remove Reviews

Reviews power conversions, but there are legitimate reasons to remove or hide them:

• Reviews are duplicated across several systems, creating inconsistent displays and confusing customers.
• Spam, malicious posts, or irrelevant reviews can damage trust.
• Reviews injected by scripts can slow pages or conflict with theme design.
• Some channels (like Shop) deliver reviews that can’t be moderated from a third-party review solution.
• Product pages may show star ratings or aggregate data that no longer reflect your catalog after product changes or discontinued SKUs.
• Inconsistent structured data (product schema) can lead to incorrect search engine snippets.

Removing reviews is not always about hiding negative feedback. Often it’s about removing duplicated displays, eliminating third-party injections that override your brand, or fixing technical outputs (like aggregateRating schema) that cause misleading search results.

Before You Remove Anything: A Practical Checklist

Removing reviews can have SEO, legal, and user-experience consequences. Run through this checklist before you act.

• Create a theme backup or duplicate your live theme so you can revert changes quickly.
• Identify the source of reviews (Shopify’s native solution, a third-party review platform, a sales channel, or hard-coded snippets).
• Consider whether hiding or unpublishing is preferable to deletion—deleted reviews are often irreversible.
• Audit structured data on product pages to see if aggregateRating schema is present; removing reviews may change rich results.
• Export reviews if you might want to migrate them later (many review solutions provide CSV export).
• Note any reviews that violate policies (spam, hate speech, personal data) so you can justify removal if needed.
• Set a monitoring window post-change (48–72 hours) to check caches, CDN propagation, and search results.

Identify Where Reviews Are Coming From

Finding the source is the most important step. Reviews can appear on your product page but originate in a variety of places.

How to detect the source

• Check Shopify admin: Go to Settings → Apps and sales channels to see installed review solutions or sales channels that collect feedback.
• Look for review platform dashboards: Many third-party review platforms include a dashboard where reviews are listed and can be moderated.
• Inspect the page source: Right-click the product page and select "View page source" or open DevTools. Search for keywords like "product-reviews", "aggregateRating", "ratingValue", or vendor names (if known).
• Search theme code: In Shopify admin go to Online Store → Themes → Actions → Edit code and use the search box to search for likely handles such as product-reviews, reviews, rating, loox, judge, or review-widget.
• Check metafields: Some review solutions store review data in product metafields; search for product.metafields entries that reference reviews.
• Observe behavior when you disable solutions: Temporarily disable or hide a review widget (via its dashboard) to see if the display disappears.

Typical sources you'll find

• A third-party reviews solution that injects code via theme files or scripts.
• Shopify’s native review functionality or legacy Product Reviews integration (some themes still include it).
• Shop or other sales channels that allow reviews published directly to the product.
• Hard-coded review snippets in the theme or shipped with theme templates.

Step-By-Step Methods To Remove Reviews

Below we explain practical removal options ranked by permanence and safety. Always start with the least destructive approach (hide/unpublish) and progress to code edits if necessary.

Remove reviews from the reviews solution itself (recommended when applicable)

If reviews originate from a reviews platform you installed, manage them from that platform’s dashboard.

• Open the review platform’s admin panel.
• Look for a Reviews, Manage Reviews, or Moderation area.
• Use filters to find the reviews you want to hide or delete.
• Choose "Hide" or "Unpublish" if available. This preserves the record but removes it from the storefront.
• If you must delete, use the delete action; remember deletion is often permanent.
• Check the platform’s widget or integration settings to disable automatic display on product pages.
• If you plan to remove the platform entirely, follow the platform’s uninstall guide; then proceed to the theme cleanup steps below because uninstalling often leaves code behind.

Why start here: This keeps a clean audit trail and is reversible in many systems. It also avoids touching theme code.

Disable Shopify’s built-in review functionality

Note: Shopify made changes to its native review offerings in recent years; themes may still include native review sections. If your theme uses Shopify’s default review snippet, you can disable it from theme code.

• Create a full duplicate of your theme from Online Store → Themes → Actions → Duplicate.
• Edit the duplicated theme: Actions → Edit code.
• Search for product-template.liquid, main-product.liquid, or any product file under Sections or Templates.
• Look for Liquid that includes the review section. Typical forms include:
  • {% section 'product-reviews' %} or
  • {% include 'product-reviews' %}
• Comment out or remove the include/section line. Example to comment:
  • {% comment %}{% section 'product-reviews' %}{% endcomment %}
• Save and preview the theme. If the review area disappears, publish the edited theme when you’re ready.

If the theme also outputs product aggregate rating schema, search for "aggregateRating" or JSON-LD blocks and remove or adjust them so your markup no longer claims a rating.

Remove review widgets embedded in theme files

Third-party review platforms often add Liquid includes or script tags to the theme.

• Backup and duplicate the theme first.
• Edit code and search for platform-specific keywords (if known), as well as generic terms: review, reviews, widget, script, judge, loox, yotpo, etc.
• Remove sections that add review blocks to product templates. Typical locations:
  • Sections: main-product.liquid, product-template.liquid
  • Snippets: product-reviews.liquid
  • Layout: theme.liquid (for scripts loaded globally)
• If the review platform added an app block, you can also remove it from the theme editor: Online Store → Themes → Customize → open a product page preview → find the review block and remove it.
• Save and preview.

If you can’t find the code, the platform might inject reviews via a server-side integration or an external script referenced from theme.liquid. Search theme.liquid for script tags referencing external domains.

Hide reviews using CSS (quick, temporary fix)

If time is short or you need a reversible fix without editing Liquid, hiding elements with CSS can work.

• Go to Online Store → Themes → Customize → Theme Settings → Custom CSS (or edit theme.scss.css / base.css in the code editor).
• Add CSS rules that target the reviews container. Example generic rules:
  .product-reviews, .product-reviews-wrapper, .rte .reviews, a[href="#reviews"] { display: none !important; }
• Save and preview across different screen sizes.

Use this only as a stop-gap. It does not remove schema or scripts and can be brittle if theme class names change.

Remove third-party scripts from theme.liquid or sections

Some review solutions insert global scripts that fetch and render reviews.

• Open layout/theme.liquid and search for external script tags or comments referencing the review provider.
• Delete any script tags you added when installing a review provider.
• Also check snippets that might contain the script and remove them.

After removing scripts, check the page source again to confirm the script no longer loads.

Deal with Shop channel reviews and similar channel-sourced feedback

Reviews originating from sales channels (for example, Shop) may be outside your review solution's control.

Options:

• Remove the product from the sales channel:
  • Open the product page in Shopify admin.
  • Click the three dots beside "Manage" or use the "Manage sales channels" option.
  • Deselect the problematic sales channel (e.g., Shop).
• If you want to keep the product on the channel but remove reviews, contact the channel’s support for guidance. Some channels moderate their own reviews, and you may need to report abuse through their mechanisms.
• Unlink the channel integration if the channel’s review management is incompatible with your moderation needs.

Be aware: removing a product from a sales channel may affect visibility and sales originating from that channel.

Remove review schema (aggregateRating) to control rich snippets

Star ratings and aggregate rating schema are generated in Liquid or JSON-LD blocks. If you removed the visual reviews but search engines still show stars, remove the schema.

• In Edit code, search for "aggregateRating", "ratingValue", "reviewCount", or "schema".
• Remove or comment out the JSON-LD block that references product ratings.
• Alternatively, adapt the Liquid logic to output schema only when your centralized reviews solution is providing trusted ratings.
• Save and monitor results with the URL inspection tool in Google Search Console; rich snippets can persist in search for a while due to caching.

Bulk delete or hide reviews

If you have many reviews to remove:

• Use the review platform’s bulk actions (many have checkboxes and bulk delete/hide options).
• Some platforms allow CSV export, edit, and reimport to alter statuses in bulk.
• If reviews are in metafields, consider exporting product metafields for editing and reimporting, but exercise caution—editing metafields in bulk can have unintended consequences.

Common Problems And How To Fix Them

Even after following steps above, merchants often face recurring issues. Here is a troubleshooting guide.

• Reviews still visible after removal:
  • Cause: Cached widget or CDN.
  • Fix: Clear CDN cache, check server-side caching if used, ensure the script is fully removed from theme.liquid, and check for other copies of the widget in sections or snippets.
• Reviews reappear after uninstall:
  • Cause: Uninstalling a solution may leave theme code or snippets behind.
  • Fix: Manually remove leftover includes, snippets, and script tags; search theme files for provider-specific keywords and delete residual code.
• Cannot find the code:
  • Cause: The review injection might be stored in a snippet, a metafield, or in theme settings.
  • Fix: Search all theme files for broad keywords like "review", "rating", "stars", "aggregateRating", or the product metafield namespace; check theme settings under Customize for blocks or sections referencing reviews.
• Shop channel reviews that can’t be managed via your review platform:
  • Cause: Reviews were submitted through the channel itself (Shop).
  • Fix: Deselect the sales channel for the product or reach out to the channel’s support. For spammy content, report via the channel’s abuse reporting flow.
• Removing schema breaks structured data:
  • Cause: The product page may rely on the schema to display rich snippets.
  • Fix: Ensure alternate, accurate structured data is in place if you still want rich results. If not, allow search engines time to re-crawl and remove cached snippets.
• Theme updates reintroduce review blocks:
  • Cause: Updating or reinstalling a theme may bring back default review includes.
  • Fix: Keep a custom child-theme or maintain a changelog of edits so you can reapply removals after updates. Consider centralizing review display in a single, managed solution to avoid repetitive edits.

Alternatives To Deleting Reviews (When Deletion Isn’t Best)

Deleting reviews eliminates feedback history. Consider these alternatives that preserve credibility while protecting your brand.

• Unpublish or hide reviews instead of deleting: This keeps a record but removes storefront exposure.
• Respond publicly to negative reviews: A thoughtful response can demonstrate great customer service and reverse damage.
• Aggregate reviews in a single, controlled feed: If multiple widgets cause duplicate displays, centralize reviews in one place to remove clutter.
• Use moderation rules to filter spam before it publishes.
• Replace star ratings with vetted testimonials: Curate verified testimonials and mark them as such.
• Re-frame reviews in marketing: Turn constructive criticism into product improvements and share fixes publicly.

These alternatives often lead to better long-term trust and are easier to manage than permanently deleting content.

How a Unified Retention Solution Reduces Future Review Headaches

One common root cause for review-related complexity is tool sprawl. Multiple review platforms, loyalty tools, wishlist systems, and UGC feeds multiply integration points and theme edits. At Growave we believe in "More Growth, Less Stack": one retention solution that replaces 5–7 separate tools removes duplicated review displays and centralizes moderation.

• Centralized reviews and UGC: When reviews are collected and displayed from one platform, you avoid multiple scripts and conflicting widgets.
• Unified moderation: A single dashboard reduces the need to hunt across platforms for problematic content.
• Integrated retention features: Reviews, loyalty, referrals, wishlists, and shoppable UGC work together—reward reviewers automatically or feature top reviewers in loyalty programs.
• Reduced theme edits: Fewer external scripts mean fewer theme edits and less chance of leftover code after an uninstall.
• Built for merchants: We build for longevity and merchant needs—trusted by 15,000+ brands with a 4.8-star rating on the Shopify App Store—so you get stable, long-term control over reviews and how they appear across the store.

Learn how Growave’s Reviews & UGC feature helps you collect and display authentic feedback and visual content while integrating with your retention strategy to increase LTV and repeat purchases (collect social proof and visual reviews). If you want to reward the customers who leave reviews, explore how to reward repeat customers with points and perks that tie reviews into your loyalty program.

For merchants on enterprise plans, our solutions are compatible with Shopify Plus stores and scale without multiplying integration points. When you’re ready to evaluate whether consolidating tools is worth it, you can compare options across plans (compare Growave plans).

Practical Examples of Edits (Technical Appendix)

Below are practical code snippets and search tips for common edits. Always edit a duplicated theme, not your live theme.

Commenting out a review section

Search for section includes in product templates and comment them out.

Example (Liquid):

{% comment %}{% section 'product-reviews' %}{% endcomment %}

or remove an include:

{% comment %}{% include 'product-reviews' %}{% endcomment %}

Removing aggregateRating JSON-LD

If you find a JSON-LD block emitting rating schema, remove or wrap it with a condition.

Example (Liquid to remove unconditionally):

{% comment %}

{% endcomment %}

Example (Liquid to only emit when reviews exist):

{% if product.metafields.reviews.count > 0 %}

{% endif %}

Adjust the condition to reflect how your store or review solution exposes review counts.

Generic CSS to hide review containers (temporary)

Add to theme CSS:

.product-reviews, .review-widget, .rte .reviews, #reviews, .product-review-section { display: none !important; }

Searching the theme code

• Use Shopify’s Edit code search to look for:
  • "review"
  • "rating"
  • "aggregateRating"
  • "loox", "judge", "yotpo" (if you know providers)
  • "product-reviews"
  • "review-widget"
  • "product.metafields.loox" or other metafield references

Removing external scripts

In layout/theme.liquid or a header snippet, remove any lines like:

Or delete initialization code that calls the widget.

Migration and Consolidation Strategy

If you remove multiple review platforms and plan to consolidate under a single solution:

• Export existing reviews from each platform in CSV format.
• Clean and de-duplicate entries.
• Import consolidated reviews into your chosen reviews solution.
• Configure moderation, automatic publishing rules, and schema output carefully.
• Replace multiple widgets with a single unified widget and remove residual scripts.

We make consolidation easier by offering integrated reviews alongside loyalty, referrals, wishlists, and shoppable Instagram—reducing the number of systems you manage and avoiding the common problem of orphaned code across themes.

Monitoring After Removal — What To Watch

After you remove reviews, monitor these areas:

• Storefront pages on multiple devices and browsers to ensure no visual leftovers remain.
• Google Search results and the URL Inspection tool in Google Search Console for changes to rich snippets.
• Conversion metrics and user behavior—sometimes removing social proof affects conversion; consider replacing it with curated testimonials or verified reviews from your consolidated system.
• Server and CDN caches; purge caches if necessary.
• Reports from customer support about odd behavior or broken product pages.

How Growave Fits Into This Workflow

We built our platform to make these problems less frequent and easier to fix. Growave provides a unified retention suite that replaces 5–7 solutions with one integrated ecosystem: Loyalty & Rewards, Reviews & UGC, Wishlists, Referrals, and Shoppable Instagram & UGC. The advantages:

• One place to moderate reviews and UGC, avoiding leftover scripts or duplicated widgets across your theme.
• Native integrations between reviews and loyalty, so you can automatically reward reviewers and increase repeat behavior.
• Built-in structured data settings to control when and how ratings appear to search engines.
• Enterprise-ready features for Shopify Plus stores, and plans that scale with your business—compare how plans fit your needs on our pricing page (compare Growave plans).

If you want to see the solution in action or need help with a technical migration, you can install our platform from the Shopify listing or speak to our team. Many merchants start with a trial to evaluate consolidation benefits; our Growave listing on the Shopify marketplace explains installation steps and reviews from merchants who have simplified their stacks (install Growave from the Shopify App Store).

Final Checklist For Removing Reviews Safely

• Duplicate your theme and work on the copy.
• Identify the review source(s).
• Prefer moderation and hiding over irreversible deletion when possible.
• Remove theme includes and script references after uninstalling a reviews solution.
• Remove or adjust aggregateRating schema to match your visible ratings.
• Use CSS as a temporary fallback if you can’t find the source immediately.
• For Shop or other channel-originated reviews, manage or remove the product from that channel.
• Consolidate review flows into one controlled platform to avoid recurrence.
• Monitor search results and conversion post-change.

Conclusion

Removing reviews from Shopify can be a quick fix or a multi-step remediation, depending on where reviews originate and how they’re injected into your storefront. The safest approach is to identify the source, use moderation tools whenever possible, and avoid one-off fixes that leave residual scripts or schema behind. Consolidating review collection and moderation into a single retention platform reduces complexity and prevents this problem from repeating—freeing you to focus on retention strategies that increase customer lifetime value.

If you’re ready to reduce tool sprawl and centralize reviews alongside loyalty and UGC, explore Growave’s plans and start a 14-day free trial to test how a unified retention solution can replace multiple tools and simplify review control (compare Growave plans).

FAQ

• Can I recover reviews after deleting them from a third-party reviews solution?
  • It depends on the provider. Many platforms permanently delete reviews when you confirm deletion. Always export or back up reviews before bulk deletion.
• Why are star ratings still showing in Google after I remove reviews from my site?
  • Search engines cache rich snippets. Also, structured data may still be present in your theme’s schema. Remove aggregateRating schema and wait for Google to re-crawl your pages.
• My product shows reviews on the storefront but I can’t find the review in any review platform—what now?
  • The review may come from a sales channel (like Shop) or be injected by a script left in the theme. Search theme.liquid and product templates for script tags, check sales channels, and consider hiding the product from the problematic channel if needed.
• How do I prevent this problem in the future?
  • Consolidate review collection and display into one solution, implement moderation rules, use a single widget, and avoid adding review scripts directly into theme files when possible. If you want to learn how a unified solution can simplify your storefront and reduce the number of integrations you manage, review your options and plan a migration strategy (collect social proof and visual reviews, reward repeat customers with points and perks).

We’re merchant-first: if you need help identifying and removing leftover review code or consolidating review systems, our team can guide you through a migration or cleanup. Learn more about how consolidation reduces friction and supports growth by visiting our pricing page for plan details (compare Growave plans) or install the platform through the Shopify marketplace (install Growave from the Shopify App Store).