How we rate toilets.
No magic. No opaque algorithm. Just 6 objective criteria, rated out of 5 by users, weighted according to their real impact on experience. Here's how it works.
The 6 rating criteria
Each criterion is rated out of 5 by the user. The 6 criteria cover the complete experience: what we see (cleanliness, equipment, accessibility), what we need (paper, soap), and what we smell. No global single-score evaluation — each dimension counts.
Cleanliness
General perceived state: floor, bowls, sinks, mirrors. The main criterion — it's what users look at first.
Toilet paper
Availability, quality, dispenser in working order. Lack of paper = bad score, it's a deal-breaker.
Soap / gel
Availability, working dispenser, soap quality. Presence of automatic hand sanitizer = bonus.
Equipment
Furniture state: doors that close, working taps, functional flush, ventilation, sufficient lighting.
Accessibility
Wheelchair compliance (door width, grab bars, maneuvering space), child access, stroller/baby space.
Smell
More subjective but decisive. An acceptable smell is a signal of regular maintenance. An unbearable smell ruins all other criteria.
Le Verdict — overall score
Le Verdict is the weighted average of the 6 criteria. Not all ratings carry the same weight. A simple arithmetic average would be misleading: a perfect equipment score doesn't erase disastrous cleanliness.
Current weighting:
- Cleanliness: 25%
- Toilet paper: 15%
- Soap / gel: 15%
- Equipment: 15%
- Accessibility: 15%
- Smell: 15%
Cleanliness weighs more because it's the first signal perceived by all users, regardless of their profile. The 5 other criteria are equally weighted — each reflects a specific need that can be a deal-breaker depending on profiles (ex: no paper = immediate exit for the majority).
Shame Score — the shame indicator
Conversely to Le Verdict, the Shame Score highlights establishments to avoid. Calculated as (1 - Verdict / 5) × 100, it's expressed as a percentage. A Shame Score of 100% means the rating is 0/5; 0% means it's perfect.
Why a "negative" score? Because in practice, what matters most for a user in urgency is to avoid the worst — not find the best. The Shame Score is an avoidance signal, complementary to Le Verdict which guides toward the good choice.
Anti-fraud pipeline
Each submitted review goes through an automatic pipeline before publication, compliant with the French NF Z74-501 standard on online reviews:
- Geolocation verification: is the review posted from less than 200m of the rated place? If so, it's marked "Verified visit" — a strong trust signal.
- Device fingerprint hash: we anonymously hash the device fingerprint to detect multi-account review farms. No raw IP is ever stored.
- Rater trust level: new accounts ("newcomer") have less weight than established contributors ("trusted", "expert"). The final weight in calculating the establishment's Verdict is weighted by the author's trust score (0-100).
- Content analysis: length, structure, presence of suspect keywords, declared vs detected language. Suspected spam reviews go to human moderation.
- Human moderation: reviews flagged by other users ("Report" button) are reviewed by our team and published / rejected within 48 hours.
Our system is documented in detail on the dedicated page, in compliance with transparency obligations applicable to online review platforms in France.
Family & Women targeted criteria
Since May 2026, we have added targeted criteria that are not taken into account in Le Verdict (to not penalize places that don't have them) but that are valuable for the users concerned:
🚺 For women
- 🩸 Hygiene bin
- 🧷 Pad / tampon dispenser
👶 Family & kids
- 🧒 Kids toilet
- 🚹 Kids urinal
- 🍼 Baby changing table
- 🪜 Step stool at sink
- 👶 Baby seat
These criteria appear as filters on the map to allow concerned profiles to quickly find toilets that match their needs.
Continuous evolution
Our methodology evolves with user feedback. If you think a criterion is missing, a weight is poorly calibrated, or if you want to challenge us on a concrete case, write to us at contact@lestoilettes.com. Any reasoned proposal is studied and may result in a public update of this page.
Last updated: May 27, 2026