Google Business Profile · Guide

Can You Remove
a Google Review?

Whether you can remove a Google review, why you cannot just delete one you dislike, the routes that genuinely work for removing policy breaching reviews and what to do about the ones you cannot.

Updated: June 2026
Written by: Andrew Odgers, Managing Director
Reading time: 6 minutes
The short answer

You cannot directly remove a Google review yourself and you cannot delete one just because it is negative or you disagree with it.

What you can do is report a review that breaches Google's policies, such as a fake, spam or off topic one, for Google to assess and possibly remove or ask a customer who left a review based on a resolved issue whether they would update it.

For genuine negative reviews that break no rules, removal is not an option, so the realistic approach is to respond professionally and build a strong flow of genuine reviews that outweighs the occasional bad one.

The detailed answer

What you can and cannot remove

It is a common hope that a bad review can just be deleted but the reality is more limited. You cannot remove reviews at will, only report ones that break the rules. Knowing what is actually possible saves wasted effort. Here is what you can and cannot do about a Google review.

You cannot delete reviews yourself

Businesses cannot directly remove reviews from their own profile. Google controls reviews to keep them trustworthy, so there is no button to delete one you dislike. Accepting this from the start saves you looking for an option that does not exist and focuses you on what actually works.

No self delete exists. Why reviews matter is covered in Do Google Reviews Help SEO?

A negative review is not removable

You cannot remove a review just because it is negative or you disagree with it. A genuine, policy compliant bad review stays, however unfair it feels, since Google does not remove genuine criticism. So a negative review is something to respond to, not delete, unless it breaks a rule.

Genuine criticism stays. Responding is covered in How to Respond to Negative Google Reviews

You can report policy breaches

What you can do is report a review that breaches Google's policies, such as a fake, spam, off topic or abusive one. Google assesses the report and may remove it, so for genuine breaches reporting is the proper route, even though removal is never guaranteed and can take time.

Report genuine breaches. The process is covered in How to Report a Fake Google Review

Ask the reviewer to update it

If a review reflects a problem you have since resolved, it is fair to contact the customer, put things right and politely ask whether they would consider updating their review. Many will, having had a good experience since, so resolving the issue can lead to the review changing on its own.

A resolved issue can change a review. Responding well is covered in How to Respond to Google Reviews

Reviewers can remove their own

The person who wrote a review can always edit or delete it themselves. You cannot do it for them but a customer whose complaint you have resolved may choose to remove or improve their review, which is another reason putting things right with an unhappy customer is worthwhile.

Only the author can delete it. Getting more reviews is covered in How to Get More Google Reviews for Your Business

Respond to what you cannot remove

For genuine reviews that break no rules, the realistic option is a calm, professional reply rather than removal. A good response often does more for your reputation than deletion would anyway, since it shows future customers how well you handle feedback, so respond rather than chasing the impossible.

Reply when you cannot remove. Handling negatives is covered in How to Respond to Negative Google Reviews

Outweigh, do not erase

The most reliable answer to a bad review you cannot remove is a steady flow of genuine ones that dilutes its impact. Rather than fixating on erasing a single review, keep real reviews coming, since a strong overall rating matters far more than the absence of one bad entry.

Dilution beats deletion. Building reviews is covered in How to Get More Google Reviews for Your Business

What is realistic

You cannot delete Google reviews at will, only report genuine policy breaches, ask reviewers to revisit resolved issues and respond well to the rest. So the realistic approach is to remove what genuinely breaks the rules and outweigh the rest with a steady flow of real reviews.

Report, respond, outweigh. The whole guide is gathered in the Google Business Profile Guide

In short, you cannot directly remove a Google review or delete one just for being negative. You can report genuine policy breaches, ask reviewers to update resolved issues and respond well to the rest, so the realistic approach is to outweigh the reviews you cannot remove with genuine ones.

This guide is part of our complete Google Business Profile Guide. The hub brings together every question a business asks about Google Business Profile, from setting up and verifying through to optimisation, reviews, insights and ranking in the map, each written in plain UK English.

Part of the guide Google Business Profile Guide View all guides →
Keep reading

More from the Google Business Profile guide

Dealing with a review? Report a fake one via How to Report a Fake Google Review, respond to it with How to Respond to Negative Google Reviews, then build genuine ones using How to Get More Google Reviews for Your Business

GBP Guide

How to Report a Fake Google Review

Read article → GBP Guide

How to Respond to Negative Google Reviews

Read article → GBP Guide

How to Get More Google Reviews for Your Business

Read article →
Frequently asked

Removing a review

Can you remove a Google review?
Not directly and you cannot delete one just because it is negative or you disagree with it. What you can do is report a review that breaches Google's policies, such as a fake, spam or off topic one, for Google to assess and possibly remove or ask a customer who left a review based on a resolved issue whether they would update it. For genuine negative reviews that break no rules, the realistic approach is to respond professionally and build a strong flow of genuine reviews.
Can I delete a review from my own profile?
No. Businesses cannot directly remove reviews from their own profile, since Google controls reviews to keep them trustworthy, so there is no button to delete one you dislike. Accepting this from the start saves you looking for an option that does not exist and lets you focus on what actually works, which is reporting genuine breaches and responding well to the rest of your reviews.
Can I remove a review just because it is negative?
No. You cannot remove a review just because it is negative or you disagree with it, since a genuine, policy compliant bad review stays however unfair it feels, because Google does not remove genuine criticism. So a negative review is something to respond to professionally rather than delete, unless it actually breaks one of Google's policies, in which case you can report it for assessment.
How do I get a policy breaching review removed?
Report it. You can flag a review that breaches Google's policies, such as a fake, spam, off topic or abusive one and Google will assess the report and may remove it. For genuine breaches, reporting is the proper route, though removal is never guaranteed and can take time. There is a separate guide on reporting fake reviews that walks through exactly how to flag and explain a breach.
Can a reviewer remove their own review?
Yes. The person who wrote a review can always edit or delete it themselves, even though you cannot do it for them. So a customer whose complaint you have resolved may choose to remove or improve their review, which is another reason putting things right with an unhappy customer is worthwhile, since it can lead to the review being updated or taken down by its author.
Should I ask a customer to change their review?
If you have resolved their issue, it is fair to. You can contact the customer, put things right and politely ask whether they would consider updating their review and many will after a good experience since. So resolving the underlying problem can lead to the review changing on its own, which is often more effective than trying to get a genuine review removed through reporting.
What if I cannot remove a bad review?
Respond professionally and outweigh it with genuine reviews. For a review that breaks no rules, a calm, constructive reply often does more for your reputation than deletion would, since it shows future customers how well you handle feedback. Keeping a steady flow of real reviews then dilutes the impact of the bad one, which is more reliable than fixating on removing a single entry.