Only the person who wrote a review, or Google, can remove it. As the business, you report the review for breaking Google’s content policy. Google usually assesses a report within several days. If it says no, you get one appeal.
Who can remove a review
There are only two ways a Google review disappears.
- The author removes or edits it. Reviewers can change or delete their own reviews.
- Google removes it. Google takes down reviews that break its content policy, either through automated spam detection or after someone reports the review.
A business owner has no delete button. Google does not sell review removal, and it says it does not get involved when a business and a customer disagree about what happened. What you can do is report the reviews that break the rules, and reply to the ones that don’t.
Step 1: Check whether the review breaks a rule
Google only removes reviews that break its policies. A negative review from a real customer, describing a real experience, stays up, however unfair it feels. Google asks businesses not to report a review just because they disagree with it.
The reviews that most often qualify:
- Fake reviews: not based on a genuine experience, paid for, or posted from several accounts by one person.
- Conflicts of interest: posted by a competitor, or by a current or former employee.
- Harassment and hate speech: threats, personal attacks, slurs.
- Off-topic content: political or social commentary and rants that are not about an experience at your business.
- Advertising: promotions, links, phone numbers or email addresses.
- Personal information: someone’s private details, posted without consent.
- Profanity, and repeated or meaningless text.
Our plain-English guide to Google’s review policy goes through every category with examples.
Step 2: Report the review
You can report a review from three places. All three lead to the same assessment.
From your Business Profile
- Open your Business Profile and choose Read reviews.
- Find the review and select the report icon next to it.
- Pick the reason that fits best and send the report.
From Google Maps
- Find your business on Google Maps and open its reviews.
- Open the menu next to the review and choose to report it.
- Pick the reason that fits best.
From the Reviews Management Tool
Google’s Reviews Management Tool is built for business owners. Sign in with the account that manages the profile, select your business, and choose to report a new review for removal. It is linked from Google’s help page on reporting reviews. This is the best route, because the same tool later shows the status of your report and lets you appeal.
One accurate report, with the right reason, is enough to get a review assessed. Take a moment over the reason: it tells Google which rule to check the review against.
Step 3: Check the status
Google says assessing a review typically takes several days. In the Reviews Management Tool, each reported review shows one of three statuses:
- Decision pending: reported, not yet assessed.
- Report reviewed, no policy violation: Google looked and decided the review can stay. You can appeal.
- Escalated, check your email for updates: you have appealed, and the final decision will arrive by email.
If Google agrees that the review breaks its policy, the review is removed from your profile.
Step 4: Appeal, once
If Google decides the review can stay, you get a one-time appeal through the Reviews Management Tool. You can include up to 10 reviews in one appeal, and the result comes by email.
Because you only get one, make it count:
- Name the exact policy the review breaks.
- Point to the words in the review, or the facts about the reviewer, that show it.
- Keep it short and factual. “This is unfair” is not an argument. “The reviewer writes that they have never visited” is.
If a review breaks the law
Some reviews are a legal problem and not only a policy problem: for example, a false statement of fact that damages your business. Google has a separate route for this, called reporting content for legal reasons. Google asks you to flag the content in the product first. It then reviews the legal request and may block, limit or remove the content.
Two things to know before you use it. Google may send a copy of a legal notice to the Lumen project, which publishes such notices with the sender’s personal contact details removed. And whether a review is unlawful depends on the law where you are, so speak to a lawyer first. This guide is not legal advice.
What does not work
- Paying or rewarding the reviewer. Offering money, discounts or gifts to change or delete a review breaks Google’s rules.
- Burying it under fake positive reviews. Fake engagement is the same violation you are trying to report, and Google can restrict a profile for it.
- Arguing in public. A heated reply is read by every future customer, and often does more damage than the review.
- Anyone who guarantees removal. Google alone decides. A service that promises a result, claims a contact inside Google, or asks for your password is not being straight with you. Here is how to tell a legitimate service from a scam.
While you wait
A report takes days, and an appeal takes longer. In the meantime:
- Reply calmly. Short, polite and factual. If you think the review is fake, say you can’t find a record of the visit and invite the person to contact you.
- Ask real customers for reviews, the same way for everyone, with no incentive. New, genuine reviews are the best long-term answer to an unfair one.
- If reviews arrive in a wave, or someone asks for money to remove them, read what to do about review extortion.
Quick questions
Can I pay Google to remove a review?
No. Google does not sell review removal.
Can the reviewer delete their own review?
Yes. If you solve their problem, you can let them know, and they can edit or delete the review. You can’t offer anything in return.
Can I switch reviews off?
No. Reviews are part of every Business Profile.
How long does removal take?
Google says assessment typically takes several days. Appeals take longer, and Google does not publish a timeline for them.
When to get help
Everything above is free, and you can do it yourself. It takes time, and the single appeal is easy to waste. Fairly Filed checks every review on your profile against Google’s policy, files the reports and appeals through Google’s official tools, and charges only for reviews that Google actually removes. We never need your password: you add us as a manager and can remove us at any time.