1What FoxPlug reads from Trustpilot
These are the exact things it reads, and nothing else.
| What | The details it takes |
|---|---|
| Your Business Unit ID | typed by you in the box under the key: the id Trustpilot gives your business profile. Without a valid one the read stops with an error |
| Your API key | pasted by you. It is sent to Trustpilot in a request header, never in the web address. Without it the read stops with an error |
| Your business profile totals | the total number of reviews and the TrustScore Trustpilot shows for your business |
| Your newest reviews (star rating and date only) | 100 per page, newest first, up to 5 pages, stopping once a page reaches back past 30 days. For each review the code takes the date it was written and its star rating; titles, text and reviewer details in the list are dropped |
| Counts from those reviews | new reviews in the last 30 days, how many of them were 1 or 2 stars, and new reviews per week for the last four weeks |
2Moments it finds, and what each becomes
A moment is one thing that happened in Trustpilot worth a second look. Each one is scored, then it becomes a post, a changelog entry, a thing to fix or an idea to email, or it is skipped.
3How the brain uses it
The rules below are the ones that apply to Trustpilot. The same rules, with worked examples, are on the brain page.
- Trustpilot is read for numbers only: total reviews, TrustScore, new reviews in 30 days, how many were 1 or 2 stars, and new reviews per week. They arrive as lines such as 'new reviews in the last 30 days' with that count as the votes. How the brain decides
- These lines are not word-matched against what you shipped: a review count says how people feel, not which feature they want, so FoxPlug does not turn them into 'looks like you shipped it' lines. How the brain decides
- Review text and reviewer names are never read, so FoxPlug cannot quote a reviewer or write to one. How the brain decides
4Set up Trustpilot in a few steps
Access: a Trustpilot API key plus your Business Unit ID, pasted by you. What to give it: API key (public data only; FoxPlug only reads); Business Unit ID goes in the box under it.
- In Trustpilot for Business, open the developer section and create an application to get an API key. Trustpilot says its API belongs to the API module, an add-on, so the section may not appear on every plan.
- Copy the API key.
- Find your Business Unit ID in the same developer section and copy it.
- Paste the key into FoxPlug and type the Business Unit ID in the box under it.
- Press Check for what's new.
5Limits worth knowing
Where it stops, so nothing surprises you.
- Reads at most 5 pages of 100 reviews, the newest first, and stops earlier when a page reaches back past 30 days or comes back empty.
- The weekly numbers cover the last 30 days in four buckets: the last 7 days, 8 to 14 days ago, 15 to 21 days ago, and older than that up to 30 days.
- Trustpilot's reference says its API belongs to the API module, an add-on for Trustpilot for Business accounts, and that the Enterprise plan includes the first tier of it. Calls count against a yearly allowance by tier. A key from an account without the module may be refused, and Trustpilot's pages do not say which plans can create a key at all (NOT confirmed).
- When Trustpilot answers 401 or 403, the read stops with a message naming the API module, the key and the Business Unit ID.
- NOT confirmed: the largest page size the reviews call accepts (the reader asks for 100 and still works with fewer, but it reads fewer than 30 days if Trustpilot caps the page lower), the format of a Business Unit ID, and whether the public reviews call is open to every key. A third-party guide says the public reviews call has no date filter and can reach about 100000 reviews; that is not from Trustpilot's own pages.
- No review text is read, so the page cannot tell you what a review said, only how many came in and how many were low.
6What it never reads
Read only means read only, and the list below is what the code leaves alone.
- Review titles and review text
- Reviewer names, emails or profiles
- Anything that writes to Trustpilot: it posts no reply and sends no invitation
7How Trustpilot differs from the tools next to it
The other request sources carry wording: a request title, a tag, a poll choice or a segment. Trustpilot carries only numbers, so it adds review counts, the TrustScore and a weekly trend, and never produces a 'looks like you shipped it' line. It signs in with an API key in a header plus your Business Unit ID, and depends on Trustpilot's API module.
8Questions
Does FoxPlug read my reviews?
It counts them. It reads the star rating and the date of your newest reviews and your total and TrustScore. Review titles, text and reviewer names are not read or kept.
Do I need a paid Trustpilot plan?
Trustpilot says its API belongs to the API module, an add-on for Trustpilot for Business accounts, with the first tier included on the Enterprise plan. Its pages do not say whether a free account can get a working key. If Trustpilot refuses the key, FoxPlug says so and stops.
Why does Trustpilot not give 'you shipped what people asked for' lines?
Star counts do not say which feature someone wants. FoxPlug shows the numbers, such as new reviews and low ratings in the last 30 days, and leaves matching to sources that carry request wording.
Has the Trustpilot connection been tested against a real account?
No. It is marked code-path-only: the code path exists and its offline checks pass, but no real Trustpilot account of ours has exercised it. Treat the first read as the test.
FoxPlug reads this tool only when you press Check for what's new, and only to read. Plans and limits are on the pricing page. Questions: support.