Short answer
You can report any review, but Google removes only those that break its policies — reviews not based on a genuine experience, conflicts of interest, off-topic rants, harassment, hate, personal information, profanity and similar. Report them from your Business Profile or Google Maps and follow the status; defamatory reviews can also go through Google’s legal removal route. Negative but genuine reviews stay — reply to them professionally. Never buy reviews or offer incentives: Google prohibits it, and the US FTC can now fine businesses for fake reviews.
What Google will remove
- Fake or misleading content — reviews that do not reflect a genuine experience, including competitors and former employees posing as customers.
- Conflicts of interest — reviews of your own business or a competitor’s.
- Off-topic content — rants unrelated to an experience with the business.
- Harassment, hate speech and threats.
- Personal information — phone numbers, addresses, private details about staff.
- Obscene or profane content.
How to report a review
- In your Business Profile, open Reviews, find the review and report it, choosing the policy it breaks.
- Or report it from Google Maps.
- Keep evidence: screenshots, why it breaks the policy, and — for fake reviews — why the reviewer cannot be a customer.
- Follow the status of your report; if it is not removed, you can ask for a further review with better evidence.
Defamation and legal removal
A review that states false facts — not opinions — about your business can be defamatory. Google has a separate legal removal process for content that may be unlawful in your country. Documentation decides these requests: what is false, how you can show it, and which law applies.
What not to do
- Buying positive reviews or posting them yourself — Google removes them and can restrict your profile; in the US, the FTC’s 2024 rule bans buying or selling fake reviews.
- Offering discounts or gifts in exchange for reviews.
- Asking only happy customers to review while discouraging unhappy ones.
- Threatening reviewers to make them delete reviews — the FTC rule also targets groundless legal threats used to suppress negative reviews.
Handling genuine negative reviews
Reply calmly, acknowledge the issue, and move the details offline. A good reply is read by future customers more than by the reviewer. Ask every customer — not only happy ones — for honest reviews; a steady flow of genuine reviews puts a single bad one in context. When the problem is wider than reviews, see Google result removal and Business Profile and reputation management.
Frequently asked questions
Can I delete a review from my Business Profile myself?
No. Business owners can reply to reviews and report them, but only Google can remove a review, and only if it breaks Google’s policies.
How long does Google take to handle a reported review?
It varies from days to a few weeks. You can check the status of reports you have filed.
Can a competitor’s fake review be removed?
Yes, if you can show it reflects a conflict of interest or no genuine experience. Evidence makes the difference.
Will replying to a negative review hurt my rating?
No. Replies don’t change the rating, and a calm, helpful reply often reassures future customers.
Sources: Google Business Profile Help — report inappropriate reviews, Google Maps — prohibited and restricted content, FTC — final rule banning fake reviews