How to remove a Google review from your business

The short answer

You can't delete a review from your own Business Profile. Only the person who wrote it can. What you can do is report it, and Google takes it down only if it breaks Google's content policies. Five steps cover almost every case:

1. Check the review against Google's policies first. Negative and unfair isn't enough. Spam, fake, conflict of interest, abuse or personal information is.
2. Report it from your Business Profile. Choose the reason that matches the policy it breaks.
3. Track it in Google's Reviews Management Tool. That is where you see whether Google removed it.
4. Appeal once if Google says no. The tool lets you appeal a rejected report one time, with a form.
5. Reply, and outweigh it with new reviews. If the review stays, a calm reply and a steady flow of recent reviews do the most good.

The rest of this guide shows which reviews qualify, the exact clicks for each step, and what to do when Google keeps the review up.

Can a business delete a Google review?

No. Google's help page for reviews on Google Maps is direct about it: "You can't contact someone who left an inappropriate review or directly delete someone else's review. Instead, you can request that Google remove the review by reporting it." (From Add, edit, or delete Google Maps reviews & ratings.)

Google also says it won't referee a disagreement. In its words, "Google doesn't get involved in conflict between businesses and customers", and it asks owners not to report a review "just because you disagree with it or dislike it" (from Report inappropriate reviews on your Business Profile). So the question is never "is this review fair?". It is "does this review break a written rule?".

Three people can make a review disappear, each in a different way:

• The reviewer can edit or delete it at any time. Google notes that customers can still change their review after reading your reply.
• Google can remove it. Either its automated spam detection catches it, or someone reports it and Google finds a policy violation.
• A legal request can. Google has a separate process for content that breaks the law. It is slower, and it only applies to content that is unlawful where you are.

One exception to the reporting route: some profiles show reviews from other websites, such as travel sites. Google says you should contact the other website directly about those, except in the European Economic Area, where businesses can report them on Google (see About third-party reviews).

Which Google reviews can be removed?

Google removes reviews that break its prohibited and restricted content policy. Its general policy for Maps content adds that "defamatory language, personal attacks" and off-topic reviews break the rules too (from Maps user-generated content policy). This table sorts the reviews owners ask about most. "Maybe" means the review breaks a rule, but Google has to be able to see that from the review, the account and its own signals.

The table is our summary of Google's policy, not Google's own wording, apart from the quoted phrases. Two things catch owners out. A review from someone you can't find in your records is not automatically fake: plenty of customers use a nickname or a partner's account. And the policy protects names too, but not every name: Google allows the name of a professional who does business under it, such as a doctor or a contractor.

If you think a review is fake, or part of a wave of reviews from accounts you don't know, our guide to fake Google reviews covers the warning signs and what to collect before you report.

How do you report a Google review from your Business Profile?

Sign in with the Google account that manages the profile. These are the steps in Google's help article Report inappropriate reviews on your Business Profile:

1. Go to your Business Profile.
2. Select Read reviews.
3. Next to the review you want to flag, select Report.
4. Select the reason, for example "Spam" or "Profanity".
5. Select Send report.

Google says evaluation "typically takes several days". You can also report from the Reviews Management Tool, which is covered in the next step and which you'll use anyway to check the result.

When the problem is the account, not one review

If one account is posting several abusive or fake reviews, Google lets you report the user profile in the Google Maps app:

1. Open the Google Maps app on your phone.
2. At the bottom right, tap Business, then Reviews.
3. Tap the reviewer's name.
4. In their profile, at the top right, tap More, then Report.
5. Select a reason, such as "Legal issue" or "Privacy concerns".

How to pick the right reason

Google doesn't publish how reports are scored, so this is our advice. Choose the reason that names the rule the review breaks, not the one that sounds most serious. A review from a former employee is a conflict of interest, not harassment. Report each review on its own; a batch of reviews from one attack can be appealed together later.

How do you check the status and appeal?

Google's Reviews Management Tool is where you report reviews, check what happened to them and appeal. Open it, confirm the email address that manages your profile (or select Switch account), and select your business.

Check the status

Select Continue, then Check the status of a review I reported previously and appeal options, then Continue. Google shows one of three statuses:

• Decision pending. The review is flagged but hasn't been evaluated yet.
• Report reviewed - no policy violation. Google looked and found no violation. You can appeal once.
• Escalated - check your email for updates. Your appeal is with Google, and the final decision comes by email.

A review that was removed no longer shows on your profile. If you reported it from the profile and it isn't in the tool's list, check the profile itself.

Submit your one-time appeal

1. In the same part of the tool, at the bottom, select Appeal eligible reviews.
2. Select the review you want to appeal. You can select up to 10.
3. Select Continue, then Submit an appeal.
4. Fill out the form in the new tab and select Submit.

Google emails you the result. If the review violates its policies, it is removed. If not, it stays live and the tool keeps showing "Escalated". All of this is in Google's reporting guide.

What to put in the appeal

You get one appeal, so write it like a short case. A checklist:

• Name the policy and quote the line. For example, "Conflict of interest: the reviewer is a former employee".
• Link to the exact review. In Google Maps, open your business, select Reviews, then More next to the review, Share review, Send a link and Copy link (from Google's Manage customer reviews).
• Say what you checked. "No booking under this name or on this date" is useful. Don't paste a customer's private details.
• Show the pattern if there is one. Dates and times of a burst of reviews, or the same wording across accounts.
• Keep it calm and short. Facts get further than anger.

The opposite problem happens too: Google's automated spam detection sometimes removes genuine reviews, and Google says to contact its support when that happens. Our guide to Google reviews not showing covers that case.

What can you do when Google won't remove a review?

Most negative reviews stay, because most are genuine. That is less of a loss than it feels like. The people deciding whether to call you read the review, your reply and the reviews around it, and those last two are in your hands.

1. Reply once, calmly

Thank them, own what went wrong without excuses, and give a phone number or email to sort it out. If you have no record of them, say so without accusing anyone: "We can't find a visit under this name. Please call us on [number] so we can look into it." Our guide on how to respond to Google reviews covers every star rating, and the review response examples include replies to complaints you can adapt.

2. Fix it, and let the customer decide

Google notes that customers can still change their review after reading your reply. If you sort out a real customer's problem, they may update the review on their own. If you mention it, attach nothing to it: Google's policy forbids offering anything ("payment, discounts, free goods and/or services") in exchange for a review being changed or removed. So no refund on condition, no gift card, no pressure. Google doesn't address a plain request with nothing attached, so that part is our advice: mention it once, then let it go.

3. Outweigh it with new reviews

One 2 star review among 15 looks like a pattern. Among 150, it looks like a bad day. Google's guide to local ranking also says local results are based mainly on relevance, distance and popularity, and that "more reviews and positive ratings can help your business's local ranking." Ask every customer, the same way, every week: our guide on how to get more Google reviews has the steps and copy-paste templates.

Answering every review takes time, which is where most owners fall behind. Mekomi's Google review management drafts a reply to every new review, in the reviewer's language. Every 1 to 3 star review and any review with a complaint waits for your approval, so a reply to an angry customer never goes out unread.

4. The legal route, only for unlawful content

If a review is defamatory or otherwise breaks the law where you are, Google has a separate process: Report Content for Legal Reasons. Google asks you to flag the content in the product first, then include the specific URL and explain exactly what is unlawful and why. It also notes that the content may still exist elsewhere on the web.

Be careful here. A harsh opinion about a real visit is rarely unlawful, and threatening a genuine reviewer can make things worse. In the US, the FTC's rule on consumer reviews bars businesses from using "unfounded legal threats", intimidation or certain false accusations to prevent or remove a negative review. Talk to a lawyer where you are before you send anything.

Should you pay a review removal service?

Search for this topic and you'll see companies offering to remove Google reviews, some on a "no win, no fee" basis. Before you pay one, know what they can and can't do:

• Nobody outside Google has a delete button. Google removes reviews that break its policies. A service can only use the same reporting, appeal and legal routes described above, which are free for you.
• Some methods break the rules you'd be paying them to use. Offering the reviewer money or a refund to take the review down is an incentive under Google's policy, and in the US, intimidation or unfounded legal threats fall under the FTC rule.
• Some are the problem. Google warns about extortion scams: a sudden burst of 1 and 2 star reviews, then someone asking for money to make them go away. Google's advice is not to engage or pay, and to report it on its extortion reporting page.

If you do hire help, ask one question: "Which policy does this review break, and which route will you use?" If the answer is vague, or promises a result, keep your money.

Want to delete a review you wrote?

If you're the reviewer, it is simple: you can edit or delete your own review at any time from Google Maps, under Your contributions, then Reviews. Google's instructions are in Add, edit, or delete Google Maps reviews & ratings, and the mobile steps are in its Report or fix content page.

Our guide to editing or deleting a Google review walks through it on a phone and a computer. Business owners can send it to a customer who has offered to update a review.