Can People See Your Activity On Yelp

Caroline Mae

less than a minute read

·

10-01-2025

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Yelp, a popular platform for finding and reviewing local businesses, raises questions about user privacy. Many wonder: Can others see my Yelp activity? The answer isn't a simple yes or no, as visibility depends on several factors.

What Yelp Shows Publicly

By default, Yelp displays a significant portion of your activity publicly. This includes:

• Your reviews: These are the most visible aspect of your Yelp profile. Anyone can read your reviews, see the businesses you've rated, and access the timestamps of your activity.
• Your ratings: The star ratings you assign to businesses are prominently displayed alongside your reviews.
• Your photos: If you upload photos to your reviews, they are also publicly viewable.
• Your "useful" votes: When you vote a review as "useful," this is visible to others. This helps indicate community consensus on review helpfulness.

What Yelp Keeps Private

While much of your activity is public, some information remains private:

• Your personal information: Yelp protects your personal details such as your full name, address, and email address, unless you explicitly choose to share them.
• Your connections: While you might follow other users or businesses, those connections aren't generally publicly displayed.
• Your search history: What businesses you've searched for is kept private. This is for privacy purposes and to protect your search interests.

Controlling Your Visibility

Yelp offers several ways to manage your privacy settings, although the options are limited:

• Review editing: You can edit or delete your reviews, thus altering your public activity. However, completely removing all traces might be difficult.
• Account settings: While there aren't extensive privacy toggles, reviewing your account settings might offer minor control over what's displayed. Consider regularly checking for updates.

The Bottom Line: Public Visibility is the Norm

In essence, a considerable amount of your Yelp activity is public by default. While you can edit your reviews, you can’t entirely erase your online footprint on the platform. If you're concerned about maintaining a low online profile, limiting your Yelp activity or carefully considering your contributions before posting is advisable. Always be mindful of the information you share publicly online.