Google Maps is cracking down on fake reviews

Google Maps is cracking down on fake reviews

If a place is caught using fake reviews, Google will temporarily limit its reviews entirely. | Image: The Verge

Google Maps is reeling in business pages engaging in fake reviews, and highlighting such activity to its users. Google will now impose restrictions against business profiles that violate the search giant’s Fake Engagement policy, such as temporarily removing reviews, blocking new reviews or ratings, and displaying a warning message on profiles that have had fake reviews deleted.

The business profile restrictions were introduced in the UK earlier this year, but Search Engine Roundtable notes that the support page was updated in mid-September to seemingly apply globally. For the moment, however, only users in the UK are seeing the business warnings, such as the example posted to X by Mike Blumenthal.

Image: Google / Mike Blumenthal

This is the warning message that will appear on business pages caught using fake reviews.

Google’s prohibited and restricted content policy says that contributions to Maps “should reflect a genuine experience at a place or business.” Business pages are not permitted to display content that doesn’t “accurately represent the location or product in question,” or has been incentivized by giving reviewers payment, discounts, or freebies. Google Maps will also look for reviews that attempt to manipulate ratings by posting from multiple accounts, or utilize emulators, modified operating systems, or other methods that “mimic genuine engagement.”

It’s unclear how Google will accurately determine which reviews violate these rules, but the threat of being publicly shamed may be enough to deter some businesses from trying to artificially inflate their ratings. The warning message can also help users avoid visiting places Google deems untrustworthy, instead of suspicious reviews simply vanishing without explanation.