How do you edit a Google review you wrote?

Where do the reviews you wrote live?

Under Your contributions in Google Maps, which Google reaches from Menu at the top left, then Reviews. Everything posted from that Google Account is listed there, for every business. Maps Agent works on the business side of this surface rather than the reviewer's, so nothing on that list is visible to any vendor a business hires — it belongs to the account that wrote it.

How do you change a review after posting it?

Next to the review, select More, then Edit review, and follow the prompts. There is no time limit and no approval step, so a review written in frustration can be revised once the problem is resolved. That is the ordinary and honest reason to edit one, and it is more useful to the business than deleting it outright.

How do you delete a review you wrote?

The same path, choosing Delete review instead. Deletion is immediate and permanent from the author's side; there is no draft state and no undo, so a review deleted by mistake has to be written again from scratch. Google's guidance notes that a review stays visible until its author removes it.

Does an edited review keep its original date?

No. Google states that an edited review shows the date it was last modified rather than when it was first posted. Nothing is hidden by this — it simply means a run of recent-looking reviews on a profile may include old ones their authors revisited, which is exactly what happens after a business fixes something.

Why can't the business delete your review?

Because a review belongs to the account that wrote it. A business can reply publicly, and it can report a review that breaks one of Google's named content policy categories — being unfavourable is not one of them. Everything else about the review, including whether it stays, is the author's decision or Google's.

Why has your own review disappeared?

Check which Google Account is signed in first, since that explains most cases. Otherwise the possibilities are that the review was removed under the content policy or that the account which posted it was actioned. Google sends no notification in either case, so a missing review is noticed rather than announced.

Can you review a business anonymously?

No. Every review publishes under the reviewer's Google Account profile name and picture, alongside their other public contributions, and Google offers no anonymous option. Changing the account's display name changes what appears on every review it ever wrote, which is rarely what someone actually wants.

Should you edit a review after the business fixes the problem?

It is the fairest thing available, and it takes a minute. A review updated to say what was put right is more useful to the next reader than either the original complaint or its deletion, because it describes how the business behaves when something goes wrong — which is what the reader is trying to work out.

Common questions

Can you edit a review from a phone?

Yes, through the same path in the Google Maps app: your account picture, Your contributions, then Reviews, then More next to the review. The list is identical to the one on a computer, because it belongs to the account rather than the device.

Will the business be told that you edited it?

Google does not send the business a notification about an edit, and there is no message channel between a reviewer and a business inside reviews. The business sees the current version of the review whenever it next reads its listing, which is why edits are noticed late.

Can you leave a second review for the same business?

An account holds one review per business, so writing again replaces the existing one rather than adding to it. To describe a second, different visit, edit the review you already have — which is also more honest, since the rating counts once either way.

What happens to your reply if you delete the review?

The business's reply is attached to the review, so removing the review removes the exchange with it. Anyone who wants a record of what was said should copy it first, because there is no archive on either side once the review is gone.

Can you get a deleted review back?

Not one you deleted yourself — deletion is permanent from the author's side and there is no archive to recover it from. A review removed by Google under its content policy is a different case, and the reviewer, not the business, is the one who may appeal that removal.