Back in 2013, Yelp debuted its LIVES program -- the “Local Inspector Value-entry Specification.” The program collects and displays health inspection data right along with a restaurant's information and review rating, letting diners know if a venue passed or failed their most recent inspection.
The program started with San Francisco and has now expanded to twelve total cities and counties, including two recently added Dallas suburbs, Lewisville and Richardson.
“We’re like anyone else. We dine out, we access Yelp. We saw it as an opportunity to enhance what we were already doing, a service we were already providing.”
The program is meant to give diners extra information about the general food safety and cleanliness of establishments.
Each restaurant is graded on a 0 to 100 scale. If a restaurant fares poorly, a pop-up message will appear, alerting diners that the venue falls within the bottom 5% of local scores.
Yelp users can also click into the health inspection score to get more information about why a bar or restaurant scored what it did, including details of violations.
By law, any diner may ask an establishment what their health score is, so Yelp's LIVES program isn't divulging state secrets. It's just making it easier for people to find and make informed decisions.
The LIVES program is open to any municipality willing to participate, so there's no real timetable on the program expanding. It's up to government officials to decide if they want to jump on board. A full, current listing of participating cities can be found on Yelp, however.