Five Easy (& Totally Legal) Ways to Delete Google Reviews

You probably weren’t searching for multiple ways to delete Google reviews, but knowing every (legal) way to do it makes life a lot easier. Four are simple and one is more involved, although none of them are better than the others–they all get the job done just the same.

You’ll likely use all of these at one point or another, depending on where you find a Google review you want to flag. 

How to Report Google Reviews with Google’s Review Management Workflow

Google recently added a reviews management workflow that makes it easy to report reviews and check the status of removal requests. It guides you through the following process: 

1. Confirm your email address or switch accounts. 
2. Choose the business you want to review and click Continue. 
3. Select Report a new review for removal and click Continue. 
4. Find the review(s) you want to delete and click Report. It’ll open in a new window. 
5. Select the reason you’re reporting the review. 
6. If you’re sure you have the right reason, click Submit. 
7. Repeat for each review you want to report. 

There’s also a link to look at each review in Google Maps if you’d like to. This will also open in a new window so you don’t have to worry about losing your spot. You can click Close whenever you’re done. 

How to Delete a Google Review from Google Maps

You don’t have to use Google’s review management workflow. It can work well if you’re reporting multiple reviews, but it’s the most cumbersome option. If you’re already in Google Maps or looking at your public Google My Business listing, you can report unwanted reviews from there, too. Here’s how:

1. Search for your business if it’s not already open
2. Open your business listing and click Reviews.
3. Find the review you want to remove and click the three dots.
4. Click Report review. It will open in a new window. 
5. Choose the reason you want the review removed. 
6. Double check it’s correct and click Submit. 

You can then close the window to return to Google Maps and report more reviews if you need to. 

How to Remove a Google Review Directly from Google Search Results

Google maps isn’t the only way to delete a Google review on the fly–it’s just as easy from Google search. 

1. Find your business in Google search and click View profile. 
2. Click Read reviews–this will open a popup window. 
3. Find the review you want to report and click the exclamation mark icon to the right. 
4. Select the appropriate reason for removal and click Send report. 
5. Close the window and repeat if needed. 

The same steps apply if you open your Google business profile from anywhere on Google as long as you’re signed in. 

Use This (Lengthy) Process to Report Google Reviews that Break the Law

If you have a review that breaks a law where you live or violates your rights, Google takes that far more seriously. You should still use one of the methods above to report the review, but there’s also a separate request form for legal issues, violence, phishing, and explicit content. 

Here’s how it works:

1. Open a new removal request.
2. Choose Google Maps and related products from the list. 
3. Answer the question about generative AI–yes or no. 
4. Choose Local listings (the second bullet). 
5. Select Legal Reasons to Report Content.
6. Pick the most relevant legal reason you’re reporting the review. 
7. Answer any additional questions that pop up.
8. Click Create request. 

From there, you’ll need to provide your personal information, additional details about the case, any evidence you have, and links to the reviews you want to remove. The more details you can provide, the better. 

Once you click Submit, Google will review your request and all the info you’ve provided. They may also follow up with additional questions if needed, so it’s best to keep an eye on your email until you hear a final decision. If Google decides in your favor, the review(s) will be removed. If not, you can appeal the decision. 

How to Remove a Google Review You Wrote

Removing a Google review is incredibly easy if you’re the one who wrote it. 

1. From Google Maps, click the hamburger menu in the top left corner. 
2. From there, click Your contributions.
3. Click Reviews (the second tab). 
4. Find the review you want to remove.
5. Click the three dots in the upper right and choose Delete review. 
6. In the popup window, click Delete.

You’ll also be able to edit your review or add a photo if you prefer to update it rather than delete it. If you choose to delete your review, you won’t be able to restore it–you can, however, leave a new review if you change your mind. 

Appealing Rejected Google Review Removals

If Google rejects your removal request, you’re not entirely out of luck. 

You have a few options, but the most impactful one is submitting an appeal. With this route, you’ll be able to explain why you think the review should be removed and the exact terms it violates. 

While this process (like removing a review itself) isn’t perfect, we HAVE had success reversing Google’s decisions. 

The process starts in Google’s review management system. From there, you’ll need to confirm your email address (or switch accounts), select the business you’re appealing for, and then choose the option to review your appeal options. If you have reviews that are eligible, you’ll see an option to start the process. 

You get one shot to argue your case, so spend all the time you need putting together a concise and straightforward explanation. 

We’ve had appeals get processed in a few hours but we’ve also had some that took more than a week, particularly those that are escalated for further review. 

How Long Does it Take for Google to Take Down Reviews?

It can take anywhere from a few hours to a few months, depending on the volume of requests they have to work through, the severity of your case, and a wide range of other factors. 

We’ve experienced both sides of that timeline–it’s frustrating, but the best thing you can do is focus on other things while you wait. 

When Can Businesses Delete Google Reviews? Google’s Content Policies Explained

Businesses can technically report any reviews they’d like. In theory, they’ll only remove those that violate Google’s terms of service, your rights, or a law. In reality, it’s a lot messier than that. 

Google’s not perfect, nor are the humans (and bots) who work there. Some perfectly fine reviews are removed–some that shouldn’t be allowed… skirt the removal process time and time again. Despite that, we still recommend understanding Google’s terms of service–this can help you decide when to spend time reporting and when to spend time crafting a thoughtful response instead. 

Deceptive Content and Behavior

This section of Google’s TOS protects you from fake reviews. It specifically covers reviews that aren’t based on actual experiences with your business, attempts to manipulate star ratings, reviews left on behalf of someone else, misleading information, exaggerations, scams, spam, and otherwise unfair reviews. 

Unfortunately, fake reviews are a massive problem and Google doesn’t always do its part to help. It’s notoriously difficult to get fake Google reviews removed.

But we encourage all of our potential clients to try it on their own before hiring us–many of them are successful. 

Inappropriate Content and Behavior

Hate speech, harassment, profanity, violence, threats, publicizing of personal or identifiable information, and other forms of dangerous behavior are covered here. It also covers off-topic reviews that mention promotional material, politics, social commentary, ranting, or religion. 

This type of content is usually more outwardly obvious and easier to get removed than something deceptive. 

Should You Try to Remove Every Negative Google Review? 

It doesn’t hurt to report them, even if they don’t go against Google’s policies. You may get lucky. 

However, a few negative reviews can be a trust signal that proves you don’t hide negative feedback. In fact, 62% of consumers say they would stop buying from businesses if they knew they censored reviews. 

Too much positivity can come across as manufactured, which may cause more harm than the problem you’re trying to solve. 

Do This if Deleting a Review on Google Doesn’t Work

In a lot of cases, Google won’t do anything at all and you’ll be “stuck” with your less-than-ideal or unfair reviews. If that happens, it’s not the end of the world (even if it may feel like it). 

If you’re absolutely determined to get the Google review removed, the best way is through a reputation management company. 

We may be biased, but we think Better Reputation’s a pretty cool partner. 

With a specialization in content and review removals, we have quite a few strategies up our sleeve to push the process forward, even if you’ve been rejected over and over on your own. With numerous happy clients and successful removals, you’ll be in good company. 

Plus, you’ll only pay us if we’re successful. Hit us up if this is something you’re interested in–we’ll put together a custom proposal and get to work as soon as possible. 

Prefer to DIY? No hard feelings. Here’s what we recommend.

Work to Make Things Right

The best way to handle legitimate bad reviews is to treat them as learning opportunities. It’s cliche as heck, but it’s true. 

Sure, you can try to get them removed and you might get lucky. But you probably won’t feel good about it, nor will you learn from your mistakes. Instead, take a step back and feel all of your emotions before doing anything else. 

When you’re able to be objective, get in touch with them privately and work together to resolve whatever the problem may be. You definitely don’t have to give in to whatever they ask for, but you may have to make some compromises to right your mistakes. Many people update their negative reviews because of how the business responded–this is far better than trying to trick Google into removing the review. But it’s up to you how far you’re willing to bend to make that happen. 

Once everything’s resolved, consider updating your SOPs and documentation to avoid the same mistakes. 

Reply for the Sake of Potential Customers

The way you handle your response should depend on what’s wrong with the review. If it’s an honest, real review, go back to the section above–your response is a small piece of working to make it right and showcasing how you handle negative feedback. 

If it’s fake, unfair, or inappropriate, it’s still a good idea to reply.

The purpose of this is twofold–first, you can ask them to remove the review. The reviewer will get an email when you respond, bringing it back to the top of their mind. 

They might fix it if they’re a regular human who made a mistake. They also might not, but it doesn’t hurt to ask. 

Second, it’s your chance to provide context. This is an important distinction. You’re not replying for the sake of the person (or bot) who left the review–it’s for anyone else who may read it. If they see a well thought out response explaining that this person wasn’t a customer or is talking about something you don’t even do, they’re more likely to disregard it. 

Continue Reporting the Review

There’s nothing stopping you from reporting the Google review again. You may get someone else to review your request the second time around, which could result in a different outcome if you think Google made a mistake. This doesn’t always work, though. 

And we caution against doing this too many times. Eventually, Google will associate your Google account with one that spams their review removal system. 

Alternatively, you can have some of your friends, family, or colleagues report the review for you. Again though, this may not work. 

Generate More Positive Reviews

Rather than spending more time trying to remove the review, the best thing you can do for your business overall is focus on getting more positive reviews from happy customers. If you don’t have a feedback system in place, you can start by emailing or texting all of your satisfied customers from the last few months (or up to a year) and asking for a Google review. 

Depending on how happy they are and how many customers you reach out to, this may be enough of an influx to push down the low review. It will also increase your star rating as an added bonus. 

After that, we recommend building review requests into your workflow.

It can be automated or manual, it doesn’t matter. The key is a continuous flow of new positive reviews that’ll improve your reputation over time. 

Move On

It may sound harsh but if you’ve done all of the above, the next best thing is moving on. Focus on improving the customer or client experience, over-delivering, growing your team, and marketing yourself instead. 

These will yield far more positive results than obsessing over a bad review. 

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