Restaurant reservation platform OpenTable says that all reviews on the platform will no longer be fully anonymous starting May 22nd and will now show members' profile pictures and first names.

Restaurant reservation platform OpenTable says that all reviews on the platform will no longer be fully anonymous starting May 22nd and will now show members’ profile pictures and first names.

OpenTable notified members of this new policy change today in emails to members who had previously left a review on the platform, stating the change was made to provide more transparency.

“At OpenTable, we strive to build a community in which diners can help other diners discover new restaurants, and reviews are a big part of that,” reads the OpenTable email seen by BleepingComputer.

“We’ve heard from you, our diners, that trust and transparency are important when looking at reviews.”

"To build on the credibility of our review program, starting May 22, 2024, OpenTable will begin displaying diner first names and profile photos on all diner reviews. This update will also apply to past reviews.

When leaving reviews on OpenTable, members specify a “Review display name” that will be shown in the review, allowing feedback to be left anonymously.

Under this new policy change, a member’s first name and profile picture will now be displayed in new and past reviews.

    • BirdEnjoyer@kbin.social
      23·
      9 months ago

      The 90’s mentality of “Everyone on an Internet is a predator out to rob you or worse” left a mark on me-
      I always use a fake name and innocuous, random profile pic if possible.

      These daus you’re still screwed if someone’s that determined, but at least screw the corporations like this.

    • neutron@thelemmy.club
      15·
      9 months ago

      I never liked the normalization of sharing real names online. I always received weird looks for not doing this. The furthest I could do was using an initial.