Quick answer
TruScore is a 0–100 score for whether one food recommendation lived up to the hype. Hidden Gem counts 1, Worth It ¾, Overhyped 0, and Not for me (a matter of taste) isn’t scored; signed-in people count in full and anonymous accounts ¼; the average is blended with 5 neutral verdicts so small samples stay near 50, and no score is shown before the verdicts add up to 5 full ones.
What TruScore measures
TruScore answers one question about one recommendation: did it live up to the hype? It’s calculated per Rec — a single post recommending a single place — from verdicts given by people who saved that Rec and went.
It deliberately doesn’t rate the restaurant or the creator. A place can have one reel that nailed it and another that oversold a dish; each gets its own TruScore.
The four verdicts
| Verdict | Means | Counts as |
|---|---|---|
| Worth It | It lived up to what the post promised | ¾ |
| Overhyped | It didn’t live up to it | 0 |
| Hidden Gem | Better than the post made it look | 1 |
| Not for me | The post was fair, it just wasn’t my kind of food | Not scored |
Hidden Gem counts for more than Worth It on purpose: a Rec that people found even better than advertised should outscore one that simply delivered. So a Rec everyone calls Worth It settles around 74; the scores above that are the ones that surprised people.
Not for me is counted and shown on the Rec, but it doesn’t move the TruScore or count towards the 5 needed for one: TruScore rates the recommendation, and someone who doesn’t like spicy food shouldn’t sink an honest reel about a spicy dish.
Each account gives one verdict per Rec and can change it later. TruSauce asks 3 days after you save, so verdicts come from people who actually had time to go.
Which verdicts count, and how much
| Verdict from | Counts |
|---|---|
| Someone signed in with Google, Apple or a confirmed email, or using TruSauce on WhatsApp | In full |
| An anonymous account (no sign-in) | ¼ |
| Either, given within 60 minutes of saving the Rec | ½ of the above |
| A verdict held for review (see below) | Not at all, until a person checks it |
An anonymous account takes a second to make, so it can’t count as much as someone who proved they’re a real person. Sign in and your verdicts, past and future, count in full.
The formula
TruScore is the weighted average verdict, with 5 imaginary neutral verdicts (worth ½ each) added in, shown out of 100. Each count below is the sum of its verdicts’ weights:
TruScore = 100 × (Hidden Gem + ¾ × Worth It + 2.5) ÷ (Worth It + Overhyped + Hidden Gem + 5)
No TruScore is shown until the verdicts add up to 5 full verdicts. Before that, the Rec shows how many people have said so far. The worked examples use full-weight verdicts.
Worked examples
| Situation | Worth It | Overhyped | Hidden Gem | Not for me | TruScore |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Three people, all Worth It | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | No score yet (2 more needed) |
| Five people, all Worth It | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 63 |
| Five people, all Hidden Gem | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 75 |
| Five Worth It, three Not for me | 5 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 63 |
| An even split | 4 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 50 |
| Mostly Overhyped | 2 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 33 |
| 200 people, all Worth It | 200 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 74 |
| 200 people, 180 Hidden Gem | 0 | 20 | 180 | 0 | 89 |
Why small samples are pulled toward 50
Without the neutral verdicts, five Hidden Gems would score 100 and outrank a Rec that 180 of 200 people called a Hidden Gem. With them, five out of five scores 75 and 180 out of 200 scores 89: a big, consistent crowd beats a small, enthusiastic one. As verdicts pile up, the neutral ones stop mattering.
How TruScore stays honest
- Throwaway accounts count for little (see the weights above).
- One network can’t swing a score. Past a few anonymous verdicts on one Rec from the same internet connection, more are held back.
- Floods are held. A burst of verdicts from brand-new anonymous accounts on one Rec is held back, and a person decides whether it counts. Sudden spikes of any kind are checked too.
- Mass sign-ups don’t help. Past a daily number of new anonymous accounts from one network, further ones don’t count until they sign in.
- Held verdicts aren’t announced, and the ones that turn out genuine are counted.
What TruScore isn’t
- Not a restaurant rating. It’s about one recommendation.
- Not a food-safety or hygiene rating.
- Not paid for. Restaurants and creators can’t buy or edit a TruScore.
- Not a list of who said what. Only totals are public; individual verdicts are private.