Can you get a fake or unfair Google review taken down?

Ascent Vision · Published October 20, 2026

Sometimes. Google says only reviews that break its policies are eligible for removal: for example, a review not based on a real experience, spam, harassment, an off-topic rant or one written from a conflict of interest. An owner can report it from the Business Profile and, if Google finds no violation, appeal once. An honest bad review usually stays. The FTC also says its review rule bars intimidation, groundless legal threats and knowingly false accusations used to stop or remove reviews. This is a plain summary, not legal advice.

What Google will take down

Google's reporting page says you can report any review, but only those that violate Google's policies are eligible for removal. Among the categories Google's Maps content policy does not allow:

Content not based on a real experience, or that does not accurately represent the business.
Reviews or ratings that were paid for, directly or in kind, or posted from several accounts by one person.
Content based on a conflict of interest, such as current or former employment or an industry competitor, and posts on a competitor's business meant to undermine its reputation.
Harassment, such as a specific threat of harm, and offensive content, such as "Unsubstantiated allegations of unethical behavior or criminal wrongdoing".
Off-topic content, such as general, political or social commentary or personal rants.
Personal information posted without consent.

What does not qualify

A review you think is unfair is not the same as one that breaks the rules. Google's reporting page says "Do not report a review just because you disagree with it or dislike it", and that "Google doesn’t get involved in conflict between businesses and customers". Its content policy allows content that "describes negative experiences in a respectful manner".

A polite one-star review from a real customer will usually stay. A calm, specific reply often helps more; the related answer on getting more reviews the right way covers replies.

How to report and appeal

On your Business Profile, select Read reviews, select Report next to the review, choose a reason such as spam, and send the report.
Google says evaluation typically takes several days, and the Reviews Management Tool shows the status.
If the status reads that no policy violation was found, you can submit a one-time appeal, selecting up to 10 reviews.
If your profile is targeted by an extortion scam involving negative reviews, Google has a separate way to report it.
Never offer anything for a review to be changed or removed: Google's policy bans incentives for the revision or removal of a negative review.

What the FTC says owners must not do

The FTC's questions-and-answers page says its consumer reviews rule went into effect on October 21, 2024. In that guidance, the FTC says the rule bars groundless legal threats, physical threats or intimidation, and false accusations about a reviewer made knowingly or with reckless disregard, to stop or remove a review. It says the rule does not stop a business from replying publicly or contacting the customer to resolve the issue.

What it does not do: the FTC says its staff guidance is not definitive or comprehensive and gives no safe harbor from liability, and the page says nothing about making a platform remove an honest review. It also says the rule does not bar offering a customer something to remove or change a review, but that paying people to remove truthful negative reviews may still be an unfair or deceptive practice under the FTC Act. This is a plain summary, not legal advice.

Sources

SEO for service businesses

Get found on Google by the people already looking for what you sell, in the places you serve, and see which searches turned into inquiries.

See the service Work with us