Step-by-step instructions for deleting, editing, or removing a Google review — whether you wrote it yourself and want to change it, or you received a bad or fake review on your business listing.
By Team Saint Aura Last updated
If you wrote a Google review and want to delete or change it, you can do so through your Google account. The process works on desktop or mobile through the Google Maps app.
Search 'Google Maps' or open the app. Make sure you are signed into the Google account you used when you wrote the review.
In the Google Maps app, tap the 'Contribute' tab in the bottom menu, then tap 'View your profile'. On a desktop browser, click the three-line menu (☰) in the top-left corner and select 'Your contributions'. From your contributions page, select the 'Reviews' tab.
Scroll through your reviews to find the one you want to remove or edit. If you have many reviews, use the search within the contributions page.
Each review has a three-dot (⋮) icon in the corner. Tap it to see the options.
Select 'Delete review' to permanently remove it, or 'Edit review' to change the text or star rating. Deleted reviews cannot be recovered. Edited reviews update immediately.
A business cannot directly delete a review from its Google Business Profile. Google only permits the original author to delete a review. Your only option as a business is to request removal by flagging the review for a policy violation.
A business owner cannot directly delete a customer's review from Google. You have two options: flag the review to Google for violating their policies, or respond professionally to address the concern.
Open your Google Business Profile, find the review, click the three-dot menu, and choose 'Flag as inappropriate'. Select the reason — spam, fake, conflict of interest, or off-topic content.
If your initial flag is denied, you can submit a one-time appeal. Go to the Google Business Profile Reviews Management Tool to check the status of your flagged review and submit an appeal if eligible. For content you believe is illegal, use Google's separate legal troubleshooter form.
For genuine negative feedback, a measured response is often more effective than fighting for removal. A good response demonstrates competence to every future customer who reads it.
For the full process on flagging and escalating a fake review, see How to remove a fake Google review.
If a review cannot be removed, a professional response is your best tool. Every future customer who finds the review will also see your reply. A composed, specific response that acknowledges the concern and explains what you've done about it often does more for your reputation than a removed review would have.
See the full guide: How to respond to negative Google reviews — examples and templates.
The most effective way to reduce the impact of bad reviews is to collect more good ones. When happy customers significantly outnumber unhappy ones, the occasional negative review doesn't move the needle.
Saint Aura's review flow also routes unhappy customers to a private feedback inbox before they reach the Google review screen — so you hear about problems directly rather than in a public review.
No. Google does not allow business owners to directly delete customer reviews. You can flag a review for violating Google's content policies (fake, spam, off-topic, or harassing content) and request that Google remove it. Genuine negative opinions — even harsh ones — cannot be removed just because a business dislikes them.
Yes. You can delete or edit any review you personally wrote. Open Google Maps, tap your profile photo, go to 'Your contributions', then 'Reviews'. Find the review, tap the three-dot menu, and choose Delete or Edit.
Google typically reviews flagged content within a few days to a few weeks. There is no guaranteed timeline. If a review clearly violates Google's policies — it's spam, from a fake account, or about the wrong business — removal is more likely. Genuine negative opinions from real customers are rarely removed.
The review is permanently removed from the business listing and from your contribution history. It cannot be recovered. If you want to change your star rating or update your text instead, use 'Edit review' rather than Delete.
Flag the review through your Google Business Profile dashboard, selecting the appropriate violation type (spam, conflict of interest, or off-topic). If the automated system doesn't act, escalate through the 'Request a review' option. For content you believe is legally defamatory, Google has a legal removal process separate from the standard flag system.
No. Only the reviewer or Google can remove a review. You can flag a review on a business you manage through your Google Business Profile, but you cannot request removal of reviews on other businesses.
Open the Google Maps app on your iPhone or Android device. Tap the 'Contribute' tab at the bottom of the screen, then tap 'View your profile'. This will take you to your contributions page where you can select the 'Reviews' tab to see, edit, or delete all the reviews you have written.
Generally, no. Google's policies state that the company does not mediate disputes of fact between a business and a customer. If a review contains a genuine opinion based on a real customer experience, Google will not remove it even if you can prove certain details are incorrect. Removal is reserved for specific policy violations like spam, hate speech, or conflicts of interest, not for factual disagreements.
The Reviews Management Tool is a feature within your Google Business Profile that allows you to see all reviews you have recently flagged for removal. It shows the status of each report (e.g., 'Decision pending', 'Report rejected', 'Escalated'). If a report is rejected, you can use this tool to submit a one-time appeal for another look.
If your initial flag of a review is rejected, go to the Google Business Profile Reviews Management Tool. Find the review in the list and you should see an option to 'Appeal'. You can only appeal each review once. Provide any additional context or evidence you have that the review violates a specific policy. The appeal will be manually reviewed.
Search for the business on Google Search or Google Maps. On their Google Business Profile listing, scroll down to the reviews section and click 'Write a review'. Select a star rating, write your comments, add photos if you wish, and click 'Post'. You must be signed into a Google account.
Google does not offer a direct phone number or email address for support regarding individual reviews. The entire process is designed to be self-serve through your Google Business Profile dashboard.
Your official path for communication is:
Without a Case ID from a prior appeal, general support requests about a specific review are unlikely to be successful.
Saint Aura guides customers through a QR review flow, routes unhappy customers to a private inbox, and helps happy customers post authentic reviews to Google and 64+ other platforms.
