How to remove a Google review: report, appeal or delete

Whose review do you want to remove?

Are you a business owner trying to remove someone else’s review? Start with the grounds for reporting, then follow the reporting steps. A report asks Google to assess the content; it does not delete the review.

Did you write the review yourself? Jump to editing or deleting your own Google review. To remove only your business’s reply, use the delete option on your own response. The customer’s review will remain.

When can Google remove a review?

The useful question is which rule the content breaks. Possible grounds include fabricated experiences, spam, conflicts of interest, threats or sensitive personal information. Read Google’s Maps contribution policies and choose the reason you can support.

An unfamiliar name does not prove a review is fake. People use different display names, visit as part of a group or deal with a business without buying anything. A genuine experience does not have to involve a paid order. Google also does not settle every factual disagreement between a customer and a business.

Open the situation below that matches yours. It will help you decide whether to report the review and what information to prepare.

How to report a Google review

From your Google Business Profile

1. Sign in with the Google Account that manages your profile. Cannot find the management options? Use our Google Business Profile sign-in guide.
2. Open your Business Profile and select Read reviews.
3. Find the review and select Report.
4. Choose the relevant reason, then select Send report.

From Google Maps

Open the business listing, find the review and select More beside it. On a computer, choose Flag as inappropriate; in the app, look for Report review. Choose a reason and complete the report.

From the Reviews Management Tool

For business owners, the Reviews Management Tool brings reporting, status checks and eligible appeals together. Confirm the signed-in email address, select your business and choose the option to report a new review for removal. Keep the review link for your records.

Prepare evidence that supports your report

A heated explanation is less useful than a clear connection between the content, the policy and your evidence. Before reporting, collect:

• The review link, a screenshot and the date you captured it.
• Your business name and location, so the relevant listing is clear.
• The specific passage or behaviour you believe breaks a rule, with the relevant policy reason.
• Verifiable information that supports this. For example, an established connection to a competitor or a message demanding payment to remove a review.
• Your previous report, the decision and any case reference if you have already started the process.

Fill in the explanation with information you can support. Keep evidence ready for any explanation or attachments the relevant form accepts. Do not publish customer records or internal documents in your public reply.

Check the status and submit an appeal

Return to the Reviews Management Tool and choose the option to check the status of a reported review. Google says reviews are typically assessed within several days. That is not a guaranteed deadline.

• Decision pending: the report is still being assessed. Check again later.
• Report reviewed - no policy violation: Google has not removed the review. If the tool offers an appeal, you can request a one-time review of that decision.
• Escalated - check your email for updates: read the decision sent by email. This status does not itself mean removal has been approved and can remain visible after a decision.

Submitting a one-time appeal

1. Choose the status and appeal route in the tool.
2. Select the reviews eligible for appeal. Google allows up to ten at a time.
3. Continue to the appeal form. Explain which rule each review breaks and why you believe the original decision missed it.
4. Submit the form and follow the email updates. Keep your case reference.

Missing context or supporting evidence is more useful than repeating that a review is unfair. Do not send duplicate appeals for the same case while a review is pending. See Google’s reporting instructions for the available steps and options.

Review extortion needs a separate report

Have you received a sudden series of low ratings followed by a demand for money, goods or services to remove them? Google has a review extortion reporting form. Use it for an actual demand, rather than as a general route for every suspicious review.

Google advises against paying or engaging with the person making the demand. Save the messages, sender details, dates and review links. Prepare a short timeline and attach the available evidence to the form. Google’s extortion guidance explains what information to provide.

What to do while the review remains visible

For an ordinary complaint, future customers are reading too. Reduce the tension and give the reviewer a clear way to contact you. That creates room to understand the situation without arguing over every detail in public.

For an experience you cannot identify, a reply could look like this:

We are sorry to read that you had this experience.

We cannot yet identify what happened from your message. Please contact us so we can look into the situation together.

Team Example Restaurant

Do not publicly accuse someone of lying because you do not recognise their name. For threats, extortion or sensitive personal information, prioritise the appropriate reporting route and avoid spreading that information further in your reply. See our guides to responding to negative reviews and replying to Google reviews for more examples.

How to delete or edit your own Google review

Use the Google Account that originally posted the review. You can also change or delete a rating that has no written comment.

On a computer

1. Open Google Maps and sign in.
2. Open the menu, then Your contributions and Reviews.
3. Select More next to the review.
4. Choose Edit review or Delete review, then confirm your change or deletion.

In the Google Maps app on Android or iPhone

1. Open Maps with the correct account and select Contribute.
2. Open your profile and select the option to see all your reviews.
3. Tap More beside the review and choose the edit or delete option.

Can you see the review publicly but not in your contributions? Check whether you posted it from a different Google Account. A business owner cannot carry out these steps on the reviewer’s behalf. See Google’s instructions for your own reviews.

Third-party reviews and legal removal requests

Google sometimes displays a review from another review website. Check the source shown beside it. For a change on the original website, contact that provider. In the European Economic Area, you can also report these reviews directly to Google. For third-party hotel reviews outside that region, Google says they cannot be flagged directly on Google; contact the original provider instead. See Google’s guidance on reviews from other websites.

For content that may be unlawful, Google also has a legal removal process. Select Google Maps and related products and identify the exact content, links and legal grounds. This is assessed separately from a policy report. Removing a search result is also a different request from removing the review in Maps.

Keep on top of the reviews that remain

A removal request does not take care of your daily review work. New compliments arrive, complaints need follow-up and an older rating can still give you a reason to reconnect with a customer.

StarMagnet helps you view reviews and create, edit and publish suitable draft replies. For complaints, the focus is on reducing tension and inviting contact. For positive ratings, you can draw on your business’s known offering, even when there is no written comment, without inventing a visit.

Preview includes five free draft-reply actions per location, and you publish replies yourself. Complete offers optional automatic follow-up. Removal reports and appeals stay with Google; StarMagnet does not submit them for you. See a draft reply for your business or learn how to use positive reviews to invite a return visit.