How to delete a Google review

Google reviews are a great way to get some insight into an establishment’s reputation. They’re especially useful if you’re going to be spending money at said establishment. The thing is that there will come a time when you’ll need to delete a Google review that you wrote.

Maybe you made a mistake. Maybe your opinion of the place changed over time. Whatever the reason, it’s possible to scrub a review that you left for a business. How? Here’s a handy guide to show you.

Before we start

We have a ton of handy How-To articles here at AH to help you on your tech journey. You can check out How To Quickly Translate Text On Your Android Device. If you’re into artificial intelligence, you can check out How To Use ChatGPT. Lastly, you can boost your Gmail experience by reading How To Use Gmail Keyboard Shortcuts.

How to delete a Google review

So, these steps teach you how to delete a Google review that you yourself wrote about a business. Obviously, if you want to get rid of a review that someone wrote about your business, it’s not that easy of a process. It’s possible to have a comment about your business removed, but it’s a much different process. We’ll explain later on in the article.

Using your phone

So, the first step to deleting your review is finding it. If you’re using your phone, tap on your profile picture in the upper right corner of the Google Maps app. In the popup, tap on the Your profile button- if this is your first time going there, you’ll see a page asking you to set up your public profile. Just tap Not now if you want to avoid any extra steps.

On your profile page, it will show you the images you posted from different businesses. Scroll down to the Reviews section. In this section, it will show you a list of the reviews that you posted starting with your most recent one.

On the review, tap on the three-dot menu on the right side of the screen. In the resulting dropdown menu, you’ll see the option to delete the review. When you tap on it, you’ll see a confirmation screen pop up. It will ask you if you’re sure that you want to delete that review. The process can not be undone.

Using your computer

Deleting a review using your computer is similar, but there are some differences. Go to the Google Maps website and click on the “hamburger-style” menu on the top left of the UI. In the resulting panel, tap on the Your contributions button.

The panel will change to show you a list of your reviews and pictures. On the top of the panel, you’ll see tabs that let you control what contributions you see. If you don’t see the review you want to delete right away, you can click on the Reviews tab.

When you find the review that you want to delete, click on the three-dot menu on the right of the item. After that, you’ll see a popup appear giving you the option to delete the message. Just like on mobile, Maps will confirm that you really want to delete the review.

Whether you’re using your phone or your computer, you have the option to simply edit your review. So, if you have a change of heart, but you don’t want to completely delete your review, you can just edit it. The Edit review button is right above the Delete review button on the menu.

How to remove a review that someone wrote about your business

Now, this is not a surefire thing. Obviously, it’s not fair for you to just remove any sort of negative comment a person says about your establishment. However, there are exceptions. There are people who leave untruthful, offensive, or troll reviews just to drive down your business. At that point, it’s necessary to step in.

Getting a review removed is a pretty involved process, and there’s no guarantee that it will work. But, why not give it that old college try?

On your phone, go to the Google Maps app and tap your profile picture on the top right of the screen. There, you’re going to tap on the Your business profile button. It will be right under the regular profile button.

It will show you a dashboard with different tabs that you can navigate to. Tap on the Reviews tab. There, you’re going to find the review in question and tap on the three-dot menu on the right side.

On the menu, Tap on the Report button. This will take you to a UI where you can type up why you’re reporting the review. This is a very important step, as you’re making your case for why you’re reporting the review. So, you’ll need to be detailed in your report and outline why the comment is generally inappropriate.

After that point, you’ll need to wait several days for Google to weigh in and tell you its decision.

Why a review could be reported

Now, it’s highly unlikely that Google will remove a comment because it hurt your feelings. So, if a customer says something like “Horrible service!”, whether you agree with it or not, that’s something that you’re going to have to deal with.

Reporting a review is something that you should do if the review is downright offensive, unnecessary, irrelevant, spam, or obviously a troll. Think of it like the comment section on a social media site. So, if you’re running a nail salon, and you get a review reading, “The food here is terrible”, you should report it.

If a review says something like “These [offensive term] can’t make a burger”, then you’ll be able to report it.  So, you get the picture. While it’s not a surefire thing, it’s still worth a try.