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What Google Business Profile information can users contribute or suggest?

By Sergey Sulimko, Founder

Google's Business Profile sourcing guidance says information can come from owners or managers, factual edits suggested by Maps users, user photos and videos, reviews and place updates, and other sources such as public web content or licensed data. A suggestion is not an immediate change: Google may review it, publish it, reject it, or later replace the displayed information with information from another source.

What kinds of information can people contribute to a Business Profile?

Google says Business Profile information is compiled from public web content, licensed third-party data, users including business owners, and Google's interactions with local places or businesses.1 The contributor matters because owner-managed information, a factual Maps suggestion, a review, and a Google update follow different rules.

Contributor or source What they can supply What the contribution means
Owner or manager Profile information such as the address, hours, contact information, and photos. Owners and managers can also respond to reviews and manage posts. This is direct management of a claimed profile. Some businesses must verify before making changes, while an unverified profile can still edit some information.237
Maps user making a factual edit Missing place information, attribute edits, or reports of incorrect attributes. Google's examples include a name, category, location or address, hours, phone number, website, closure status, and some EV-charging connector details. This is feedback that helps Google decide whether to change place information. A significant change may be rejected.4
Maps user adding media Photos and videos of places such as businesses or parks. The computer help flow allows videos up to 30 seconds and excludes addresses, coordinates, private residences, and geographical areas. The contributor can delete media added from that account. A business owner can request photo removal but cannot directly delete another user's media.5
Reviewer or visitor Ratings, reviews, and information or photo and video updates about a place. Reviews are public, non-anonymous, voluntary contributions. Google moderates reviews and related content, and may remove policy-violating material.6
Google and other sources Public web content, licensed third-party data, user reports, and information from Google's interactions with a local place or business. Google may use these sources to update information shown on Maps, Search, and other Google services.18

The Google Business Profile hub covers the profile as a whole. The attributes guide covers the fields an owner can control directly; this page covers who can supply information and what happens to each kind of contribution.

How can I suggest missing or incorrect information in Google Maps on Android?

On an Android phone or tablet, use Suggest an edit in Google Maps when a place has missing or incorrect factual information. Google describes the submission as feedback for deciding whether to change the place information, not as an immediate correction.4

  1. Sign in to Google Maps.
  2. Search for a place or select it on the map.
  3. Select Suggest an edit, then choose an attribute.
  4. Add missing information or edit an attribute. To report an incorrect attribute when you do not know the correct value, choose Don't know, but this is incorrect.
  5. Select Submit.

In the same mobile edit flow, Google lists service options, highlights, accessibility, dining options, amenities, atmosphere, crowd, planning considerations, and payment options. A suggestion that significantly changes a business may be rejected if Google considers it potentially fraudulent or evidence that the business should be removed.4

What happens after a suggested edit is submitted?

For edits to a verified Business Profile, Google's edit-status guidance documents three outcomes: Accepted, Not approved, and Pending. Accepted information displays on the profile; Google may reject an edit when it cannot confirm its accuracy; and a pending edit remains under review.7

The owner-facing review window and timing details for suggested edits are covered in the attributes guide. They describe verified-profile edits, not every type of user contribution.

How is owner or manager information different from a public user's suggestion?

An owner or manager is an invited account role with permission to work on a Business Profile. Google says owners and managers can edit profile information, respond to reviews, and manage posts; managers cannot add or remove users or remove the profile.3

An ordinary Maps user does not receive those management permissions by submitting a suggestion. The user submits factual feedback, media, a review, or an update for Google's review and moderation process.3456 If you need to establish who can manage the profile, see how to get access to your Google Business Profile. If you want to publish your own offerings, see how to publish products and services on your Google Business Profile.

Can Google reject or remove a user contribution?

Yes. Google's Maps user-generated content policy requires posts and edits to be based on real experiences and information. It identifies fake, copied or stolen, off-topic, defamatory, personally attacking, unnecessary, and incorrect content as policy violations.9

Google may reject an edit that is placed incorrectly or associated with the wrong place. Google may remove or reject policy-violating content, and removed or rejected content is not displayed to other users.9

Can an approved user edit be overwritten later?

Yes. Google says other sources can overwrite approved edits.8 Its user-generated content policy says an edit may not show because of overwrites or appeals.9

An approval applies to the edit's current status; it does not prevent another source from overwriting the information.89

Review the current profile after an important correction. If the information is wrong again, use the owner editor when the field is available or submit a new factual suggestion through Google Maps.24

See where your profile stands

The audit shows how this applies to your own profile: it reads a verified Google Business Profile and scores it the same way every month.

Visibility Score

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20 scored factors across profile completeness, performance, competitive position. Free, no signup, on any verified Google Business Profile.

Run the free Visibility Score audit

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Sources

Common questions

Can a user change my Google Business Profile directly?
No. Google's "Edit place information in Google Maps" guidance says a Maps user can submit Suggest an edit feedback, but Google decides whether the place information changes. An owner or manager has a separate account role with direct profile-management permissions.
Can a business owner remove a photo added by another user?
Google's "Add, remove & share photos or videos in Google Maps" guidance says a contributor can delete only photos or videos added from that contributor's own account. A business owner can request removal of a photo, but cannot directly delete another user's media.
Are Google Maps reviews part of owner-supplied Business Profile information?
No. Reviews and ratings are public user contributions, separate from owner-supplied business details. Google's "Add, edit, or delete Google Maps reviews & ratings" guidance says reviews are non-anonymous and subject to moderation and removal under its content policy.

More on this subject in the answers library, and on the Maps Agent blog.

Last updated October 17, 2026. This page is maintained by the Maps Agent research team.