There are two different jobs hiding in this search. If you wrote the review, you can delete it yourself from Google Maps in under a minute. If someone else wrote it about your business, you cannot delete it: you can ask Google to remove it, and Google only agrees when the review breaks its content policy. This guide covers both.
Which situation are you in?
| You are | Can you remove it? | Go to |
|---|---|---|
| The person who wrote the review | Yes, any time, by editing or deleting it | Remove your own review |
| The owner of the business reviewed | No. You can report it, and Google decides | Remove a review of your business |
| The owner, and the review is from a real but unhappy customer | Usually no. Reply, and ask for newer reviews | If it will not go |
How to remove a review you wrote
On a computer
- Open Google Maps and sign in to the account that posted the review.
- Click the menu icon at the top left.
- Choose Your contributions, then Reviews.
- Click More beside the review.
- Select Edit review or Delete review and follow the prompts.
On a phone
The Maps app does the same through your profile picture, then Your contributions (the exact labels shift between app versions), then Reviews, then the three-dot menu on the review. Google's help page has separate Android and iPhone steps if the labels on your phone look different.
Edit or delete?
If the experience changed, editing is often better. Two things to know, both from Google's help page: when you edit, the review's post date changes to the date of the last edit, and your review and rating stay visible until you take them down. If you are deleting because you were angry and now regret it, deleting is fine. If a business put things right, consider editing the rating and adding a line, because that is useful to the next reader and fair to the business.
Deleting a review cannot be undone by you. If you want to say something again later, you write a new one.
How to remove a review of your business
Google's help pages are direct about this: you cannot delete someone else's review, and you cannot contact the author through Google. What you can do is flag it. Flagged reviews that break the content policy are removed and stop showing on Maps and Search. Reviews that are merely negative are not.
Step 1: check that it breaks a rule
A review can be removed when it falls under categories such as:
- Fake engagement, meaning not based on a real experience, paid for, or posted from several accounts by one person.
- A conflict of interest, such as a competitor or former employee.
- Off-topic content: not about an experience at your location.
- Advertising, or links and contact details inside a review.
- Harassment, hate speech, personal information, obscenity or profanity.
- Repetitive content: the same text posted more than once.
The full walk-through of matching a review to a rule is in how to report a fake Google review.
Step 2: report it
- Open your Business Profile and choose Read reviews.
- Click the report icon beside the review and pick the closest reason.
- Select Send report.
Or use Google's Reviews Management Tool, which lists each report and its status. Anyone can also flag a review from Maps with More, then Flag as inappropriate, but the owner's report from the profile is the one to rely on.
Step 3: wait, then appeal once
Google says evaluation typically takes several days. You will see "Decision pending", then either removal or "Report reviewed - no policy violation". After that second result there is a one-time appeal for each review, which can be filed from the same tool. Keep the appeal short and factual.
What "removed" does to your rating
When a review is removed, its stars leave your average and your review count drops by one. That matters most for a business with few reviews, where one low rating moves the average a lot. A business with 8 reviews averaging 4.5 that loses a one-star review goes up noticeably; a business with 300 reviews barely changes. This is why the lasting fix is more real reviews, not a long fight over one. See how to get more Google reviews.
Reviews removed for breaking policy are not brought back. Google's help page says so for the reviewer's side, and the same applies to what you reported.
If the review is real but unfair, and will not go
This is the most common case. A genuine customer is cross, perhaps over something outside your control, and Google finds no policy violation. You still have good moves:
- Reply once, calmly. A good reply is read by every future customer who sees the review. The structure and examples are in how to respond to a negative Google review.
- Ask the reviewer to update, only if you have fixed it. If you put things right privately, a customer may edit their own review. You may thank them. You must not offer anything in exchange for changing or removing a review; Google lists that as prohibited.
- Add real reviews. Ask every satisfied customer, using the scripts in how to ask customers for a Google review.
- Fix the cause. If three people have complained about the same wait, the review is a to-do list.
Scams that promise to delete reviews
Search for this topic and you will meet companies promising to remove any bad review for a fee. No one outside Google can remove a compliant review. What a paid service can do is file the same report you can file for free, and a few use fake accounts to flag, which is against the policy. If someone contacts you after a wave of bad reviews offering to make them vanish for a price, read the guide to review extortion scams first.
What to avoid
- Do not ask the reviewer to delete a review in the public reply. It reads as pressure.
- Do not make a discount depend on removal. Prohibited, and it can be screenshotted.
- Do not flag every negative review. A pattern of reports that fail does not help your next one.
- Do not post fake five-star reviews to bury it. That is fake engagement and risks your whole profile.
A short checklist for owners before you flag
Run through this in order. It takes about ten minutes and saves you from a failed report.
- Read the whole review twice. What is actually claimed? A claim you can disprove with a record is different from a feeling.
- Look at the reviewer. Open their profile and see how many reviews they have, how old the account looks, and whether the pattern is believable.
- Search your own records for the name and date. Write down what you found, including nothing.
- Pick the one policy it fits. If you cannot name one, move to a reply instead.
- Take screenshots. Date, stars, text, profile.
- Report once. Then put the check date in your calendar for about a week out.
- Write the reply anyway. A reply does no harm to a report and helps readers while you wait.
Other things people mean by "remove"
Some searchers want something slightly different from a deletion. Here is what each wish maps to:
| You want to… | What is possible |
|---|---|
| Hide a review from your own profile | Not possible. Google has no hide option for reviews |
| Take your review down temporarily | Not possible. Delete it, or edit it, and write a new one later |
| Delete a review of a closed business | You can still delete your own from Your contributions |
| Remove a review left on the wrong business | As the author, delete it. As an owner, flag it as being about another business |
| Remove a review that shows your private information | Report it for personal information. That is a policy category |
| Remove a review that includes a link to a rival | Report it for advertising and solicitation |
How long to wait before you do anything else
Google says evaluation typically takes several days. In the meantime keep to a routine: reply to the review, ask satisfied customers for reviews, and read your profile again at the end of the week. If the status is still "Decision pending" after a couple of weeks, do not file a second report; check the status in the Reviews Management Tool and use Google's contact options for the profile if it still shows nothing. Nothing in Google's pages promises an exact day, so treat any figure you read elsewhere as a guess.
It also helps to keep a log: date reported, reason chosen, status, date checked. If the same kind of fake review comes back, you will have the evidence in one place and can tell whether you face a one-off or a campaign.
Frequently asked questions
Can I delete a Google review someone left about my business?
No. Only the author can delete it, or Google can remove it after finding a policy violation.
Can I remove a review I posted anonymously?
Reviews are tied to the Google account that posted them. Sign in to that account and use Your contributions.
How long does it take for a deleted review to disappear?
Google's help page does not give a time. After you delete, check the business page; if it still shows after a day or two, sign out and in again and check once more.
Will Google remove a review because it is false?
Only if it falls under a policy such as fake engagement, misrepresentation or conflict of interest. A review that is simply wrong about a detail stays, and you answer it in a reply.
What if the reviewer wants to remove the review after I fixed the problem?
They can edit or delete it from Your contributions. You cannot do it for them.
Does removing a bad review improve my ranking?
It lifts your average, and Google lists reviews among prominence signals. It is one signal among many; see Google Maps ranking factors.
Sources
- Edit or delete your Maps reviews, Google Maps Help, read Nov 6, 2026.
- Report and flag reviews, Google Business Profile Help, read Nov 6, 2026.
- Prohibited and restricted content, Google Maps contribution policy, read Nov 6, 2026.
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