Yes, you can rate public restrooms in an app, and Stinky Stars is a free one built for exactly that. Sign in with Google, Facebook, Apple or email, open a restroom on the map, and leave a quick star rating in seconds, or go deeper with 9 categories, a written review and problem reports. The thing that should change how you rate: you get one rating per bathroom and it's final once posted, while problems you flag show on the listing for 24 hours. So score the room, and flag the moment.
Last updated: October 2026
The one rule that changes how you should rate
Most review apps train you to react. Bad visit, angry one-star, move on. Better visit later? Edit it, or post again.
Stinky Stars doesn't work that way. Each person gets one rating per bathroom, and once it's posted, it's final. That's deliberate, and most people don't realize how much it changes things. It stops anyone stacking the score on a place they love or hate, and it means every rating on a listing came from a different person.
That's why your rating is a one-shot deal. So it's worth knowing the difference between two things that feel the same in the moment:
- A problem. Out of soap. Out of order. Out of paper towels. Annoying, real, and probably fixed by tomorrow.
- The room. How clean it is on a normal visit, how private the stalls are, how safe it feels, whether you can turn around in it.
The rating form handles both, in different places. Problems you tick in its last step show up in a "Reported in the last 24 hours" box at the top of the listing, so the next person gets a heads-up today. Your score is what sticks around.
Here's my take: don't spend your one rating punishing a restroom for a single empty soap dispenser. Flag the soap. Score the room. Both go in the same rating, so you only get to flag a given bathroom once too.
How rating works, step by step
The rating form has four levels, and you can stop at any of them.
- Find the restroom. Share your location or drag the map to the area. Search matches restroom names and addresses, so it's handy when you know where you are, less so for typing a city name.
- Sign in. Browsing is open to anyone, but rating needs a free account.
- Drop a quick star rating. This is the ten-second version, and it already helps.
- Keep going if you've got a minute. The next levels cover the 9 categories (cleanliness, smell, privacy, supplies, spaciousness, accessibility, lighting, ambiance and safety), then extras: a written review and issue reports.
That's it. No essay required.
A plain-English guide to the 9 categories
Nobody hands you a rubric, so here's the one I use. These are my own rules of thumb, not app definitions.
| Category | What I'm actually judging |
|---|---|
| Cleanliness | Floors, seats, sinks on an ordinary visit, not the worst five minutes of the day |
| Smell | Would I notice it from the doorway? |
| Privacy | Full doors, working locks, no gaps you could post a letter through |
| Supplies | Paper, soap, a way to dry your hands |
| Spaciousness | Room for a bag, a stroller, or a kid who insists on "helping" |
| Accessibility | Could someone using a wheelchair get in, turn and reach things? |
| Lighting | Can you see what you're doing without your phone flashlight? |
| Ambiance | The vibe. Some bathrooms try. Reward them. |
| Safety | Would I be comfortable here alone, at night? |
You don't have to rate all nine. If you only noticed three things, rate three things. A confident rating on what you saw beats a guess on what you didn't.
One caveat you should know: the category scores you give are collected, but listings currently display the overall score, amenity tags, recent problem reports and written reviews. The per-category breakdown isn't shown on the listing yet. That makes your written review more useful, not less. A sentence like "spotless but tiny, tough with a stroller" carries what the hidden scores can't.
On accessibility in particular, a few words in your review help people who can't risk a surprise. If that's your main interest, Restroom Accessibility Ratings App: Labels vs. Scores goes deeper.
What happens after you post
Your rating feeds the restroom's overall score, and that drives the marker on the map: a star for well-rated restrooms, a poop emoji for low-rated ones, and a neutral 🚻 for places nobody has reviewed yet. Reviews and ratings update in real time. Your review shows a short author name like "Sam K.", never your email.
If you reported a problem, it sits in the "Reported in the last 24 hours" box at the top of the listing, then ages out. That's the right design, I think. A broken dryer on Tuesday shouldn't haunt a restroom forever.
Plenty of restrooms are still wearing that neutral 🚻. Stinky Stars has 26,000+ restrooms seeded across 107 cities and towns (83 in the US and 24 international), and a first review is the single most useful rating you can leave. It turns "no idea" into "go" or "keep walking."
When to rate, and when to hold off
Rate when you've actually used the restroom. Peeking through the door gets you smell and lighting at best.
When the issue is clearly temporary, tick it in the problem flags and keep it out of your score. And if you're furious, maybe wait until you're back in the car. Your rating's final, and calm-you writes better reviews than angry-you. (Calm-you also spells better.)
Missing restroom on the map? Signed-in users can suggest one, or propose a rename or a location fix for a listed one. Suggestions go through a moderated queue before they change the map, which keeps prank listings out.
Why rating is worth the ten seconds
Every bathroom search you've ever done went better because a stranger bothered to say something. That's the whole system. If you want to see how reading ratings plays out on the other side, Best Public Restrooms Near Me: Skip the Gamble and Public Bathroom Reviews Near Me: How Real Ratings Are Replacing Blind Luck cover it, and Bathroom Finder Map App: What Actually Works explains the map side.
Next time you find a genuinely nice restroom, rate it. Those places deserve fans.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a free app to rate public restrooms?
Yes. Stinky Stars is free. You need a free sign-in with Google, Facebook, Apple or email to rate or review, while browsing the map and searching need no account. You can leave a quick star rating in seconds, or rate 9 categories, write a review and report problems like out of soap or out of order.
Can I change my restroom rating after posting it?
No. Stinky Stars allows one rating per person per bathroom, and ratings are final once posted. That keeps anyone from stacking the score. If a problem is temporary, like an empty soap dispenser, tick it in the problem flags when you rate rather than lowering your score. Reported problems appear in a "Reported in the last 24 hours" box at the top of the listing, so the next visitor sees them.
What categories can I rate a public restroom on?
There are 9: cleanliness, smell, privacy, supplies, spaciousness, accessibility, lighting, ambiance and safety. You can rate as many or as few as you noticed. Listings currently show the overall score, amenity tags, recent problem reports and written reviews, not a per-category breakdown, so a specific sentence in your review helps the next person most.
What do the star and poop markers on the map mean?
A star marks a restroom reviewers rated well. A poop emoji marks a low-rated one, and a neutral 🚻 means nobody has reviewed it yet. The marker reflects the overall rating only, so open the listing to read reviews, check amenity tags and see anything reported in the last 24 hours before you decide.