Five stars, Zero trust

Five stars used to mean something. People still read reviews before buying software. They just don’t trust them the way they used to. And no, this isn’t about fake reviews or obvious scams. Those are easy to spot. The real problem is more uncomfortable. The review economy didn’t collapse. It slowly drifted away from its original purpose.

User reviews began as authentic buyer guidance, but they’ve morphed into strategic assets for businesses. Scroll through any app store or e-commerce site: everything is “top-rated” and lavished with praise. If every product gleams with a 4.8/5 rating, those stars start to lose their meaning. 

Consumers aren’t fooled, in fact, the share of people who trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations plummeted from nearly 80% in 2020 to just 42% in 2025 

We read the glowing comments, but we’ve learned to read between ...