The basics
What is TruSauce?
TruSauce is a free web app that turns an Instagram or YouTube food video into the actual restaurant it’s talking about — with the dishes, prices and deals mentioned — and then asks people who went whether the recommendation delivered. It’s built for Dubai and the UAE.
What is a Rec?
A Rec is one post recommending one place. When you share a reel to TruSauce, it becomes a Rec: the matched place on Google Maps, what was ordered, any price or offer mentioned, and a short summary of what the creator said.
Is TruSauce free?
Yes. There’s no charge, no subscription and no ads.
Do I need an account?
No. Your list is kept in your browser from the first save, with no sign-up. You can optionally sign in with Google or an email and password to see the same list on another phone or laptop — anything you saved before signing in comes with you.
Which links work?
Instagram reels and posts, and YouTube videos and Shorts. Instagram profiles and stories don’t work — share the reel or post itself. Private posts can’t be read.
Does it work outside Dubai?
Place matching is tuned for the UAE, and Dubai first. A reel from another city will often still resolve, but it isn’t what TruSauce is built for yet.
Finding the place
How does TruSauce find the restaurant from a reel?
It reads everything in the post at once: the caption and hashtags, tagged and collaborating accounts, the location tag, and what’s said out loud (background music is ignored, so a song lyric never becomes a restaurant name). Each name it finds is looked up on Google Maps, and a result only counts if it has the same name, is a food business, and is in the UAE. When several signals point to the same place, they back each other up; when they point to different places, the Rec is marked as a suggestion instead of a guess.
Every match carries the signal that produced it and a confidence score. A verified business tagged in the post is near-certain; a location tag that only says “Dubai” is almost worthless and is scored that way.
What if TruSauce gets the place wrong?
It can. Anything below 50% confidence is shown as a suggestion to confirm, not as an answer, and when a chain has several branches and the post doesn’t say which, the Rec tells you to check the branch. Always check the Google Maps listing before you travel. Tap Wrong place? under the place to tell us — a person checks every report, and real misses are how matching improves.
Are the deals in reels still valid?
Often not. TruSauce shows the offer mentioned in the post, but can’t confirm it’s still running, and posts more than three days old carry a warning. Check with the restaurant before you go for the deal.
TruScore
What is TruScore?
TruScore is a 0–100 score for whether one recommendation lived up to the hype, based on verdicts from people who went. It rates the Rec — that post’s recommendation — not the restaurant and not the creator. See exactly how it’s calculated.
How is TruScore calculated?
Hidden Gem counts as 1, Worth It as ¾, Overhyped as 0. Not for me doesn’t count either way — it says the food wasn’t to your taste, not that the recommendation was wrong. The total is averaged together with 5 imaginary neutral verdicts, so small samples sit near 50, then shown out of 100. Verdicts from people who signed in (or use TruSauce on WhatsApp) count in full; anonymous ones count ¼, and a verdict given right as a Rec is saved counts ½. No score appears until the verdicts add up to 5 full ones.
Why doesn’t a Rec have a TruScore yet?
A TruScore only appears once its verdicts add up to 5 full verdicts — for example 5 signed-in people who went. Until then you’ll see how many people have said so far.
Can a restaurant or creator fake a TruScore?
It’s made deliberately hard. Throwaway anonymous accounts count for little, a flood of verdicts from one network or from brand-new accounts is held back and checked by a person before it counts, and nobody can pay to change a score. How TruScore stays honest.
Is TruScore the same as a restaurant rating?
No. The same restaurant can have one reel that delivered and another that oversold a dish. TruScore answers “did this recommendation hold up?” — it isn’t a food-safety rating or a verdict on the whole restaurant.
Saving and reminders
How do I save a reel to TruSauce?
On Android, install TruSauce from Chrome and it appears in Instagram’s share sheet. On iPhone, copy the reel’s link and tap Paste and save in TruSauce, or use the TruSauce Shortcut. On any device you can paste a link into your list. Set it up on your phone.
When will TruSauce ask whether a place delivered?
3 days after you save a Rec, if you’ve turned on reminders. Tap Worth It, Overhyped, Hidden Gem or Not for me. If you haven’t been yet, tap “Not yet” and it asks again 4 days later.
Can other people see my list or my verdicts?
No. Your list and your verdicts are private. Other people only ever see the combined totals behind a TruScore, never who said what.
Privacy and creators
Does TruSauce store the videos?
No. TruSauce keeps a link to the original post and what it worked out from it. The post’s audio or video is fetched only for the moments it takes to read it, then discarded. Read the privacy policy.
How do I delete my data?
Open your list and tap Delete my data, or, if you’re signed in, use Delete your account on your account page. It’s immediate. More ways to delete.
I’m a creator or restaurant — can I have a post removed?
Yes. Request a takedown and we’ll remove the Rec — and, if you ask, block the link from being looked up again.
Is TruSauce affiliated with Instagram, YouTube or Google?
No. TruSauce is independent and isn’t affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by Instagram, Meta, YouTube or Google.