How to See Deleted Google Reviews (And Recover Them) in 2025

Have you ever logged into your Google Business Profile and discovered that some of your hard-earned positive reviews have mysteriously disappeared? This sinking feeling is all too familiar to local business owners who rely on customer feedback to build credibility and attract new customers.

This blog post offers practical advice on managing Google reviews. Google reviews are at the heart of your local online reputation. They directly impact your visibility in local search results, build trust with potential customers, and significantly influence purchasing decisions – 93% of customers read reviews about a business before deciding to make a purchase. Losing even a handful of positive reviews can substantially impact your local SEO efforts.

Don’t worry – you’re not alone in this frustrating situation. In this guide, we explain why Google reviews disappear, how you can check if they’ve been removed, and what steps you can take to restore them if possible.

Let’s dive into the mystery of disappearing Google reviews and transform this local search engine optimization challenge into an opportunity to strengthen your online presence!

Why do Google reviews disappear?

Before you can restore missing reviews, you need to understand why the disappearance of Google reviews is a common problem for businesses. Here are the most common reasons for Google reviews disappearing:

1. Violations of Google’s policies

Google adheres to strict guidelines for review content, and reviews that cross the line will be removed. The most common violations include:

• Hate speech or offensive content targeting people based on their identity
• Fake or incentivized reviews that lack authenticity
• Promotional content or external links that make reviews appear as spam
• Reviews from employees, competitors, or the business itself that represent a conflict of interest

📌 Quick tip: Read Google’s contribution policy to understand what is and isn’t allowed.

2. Algorithm updates and filtering

Google regularly updates its review filtering system to ensure quality on its platform. These updates can sometimes flag legitimate reviews as suspicious, especially when:

• Multiple reviews come from the same IP address or location
• Reviews are submitted in quick succession (e.g., during a review campaign)
• There’s a sudden influx of 5-star or 1-star reviews in a short period
• The review text contains patterns identified as potentially fraudulent

3. New business profile synchronization issues

If you’ve recently created or claimed your Google Business Profile, it may take some time for the system to fully synchronize all elements. During this time, reviews can temporarily disappear until Google completes its verification processes.

4. Customer-initiated removal

Sometimes the simplest explanation is the correct one. Customers can edit or delete their own reviews at any time. If a reviewer changes their mind or accidentally removes their feedback, it disappears from your profile.

5. Google’s penalty for review manipulation

Businesses caught attempting review manipulation, such as buying fake reviews or aggressively flagging legitimate negative reviews, including negative Google reviews, face serious consequences. In severe cases, Google may hide or remove all reviews and even suspend profiles.

📌 Pro tip: Never try to manipulate the system with fake reviews or review-gating practices – the long-term damage far outweighs any short-term benefits!

How to check if your Google reviews have been deleted

If you suspect you’re missing business reports, here’s a systematic approach to confirm your suspicions:

Step 1: Check your current reviews

1. Log in to your Google Business Profile Manager.
2. Navigate to the “Reviews” section
3. Compare the number of your current Google business reports with your records or memory
4. Look for specific reviewers or feedback you remember

Step 2: Check for violation notifications

Google sometimes (but not always) sends notifications when a negative review is removed due to policy violations. Check the email associated with your Google Business Profile for such messages.

Step 3: Use a review monitoring tool

Using a dedicated review tracking solution like Localo allows you to maintain a complete history of your online reviews, including those that have been removed or deleted.

With Localo’s review management system, you can:

• store and archive all reviews your business has received
• track deleted reviews in the “Reviews” section under the “Deleted” tab
• view your original responses to removed reviews
• receive notifications when reviews disappear

📌 Important note: Localo can only track reviews that came in after you connected your Google Business Profile to the platform. Historical reviews deleted before integration are not available in the system.

Can you restore deleted Google reviews?

While not all deleted reviews can be restored, there are several strategies worth trying:

1. Contact Google Support

If you believe a legitimate review was mistakenly removed, you can contact Google Support to have the case manually reviewed:

1. Visit Google Business Profile Support
2. Click on “Contact” and select “Issue with reviews” as your concern
3. Choose “Missing reviews” from the subcategories
4. Provide as much information as possible about the missing review(s):

• Approximate date the review was posted
• Name or username of the reviewer
• Content of the review (if you remember)
• Why you believe it shouldn’t have been removed

Be patient – it may take several days for Google Support to respond, and there’s no guarantee the review will be restored.

2. Contact the original reviewer

If you have the contact information of the customer whose review has disappeared, a personal outreach from a business owner can be very effective:

1. Explain that the review is no longer visible on your profile
2. Make it clear that you highly value the customer’s feedback
3. Provide a direct link to your Google Business Profile to the profile reviews page
4. Ask if the customer would be willing to repost their review
5. Suggest minor changes to avoid triggering the same filters

Example contact message:

Hello [Customer Name], I hope you’re doing well! I wanted to reach out because we noticed that your kind review of our services seems to have disappeared from our Google Business Profile. Google occasionally removes reviews due to its automated filtering system. Your feedback means a lot to us, and we would greatly appreciate it if you could repost it. I’ve included a direct link to make the process as easy as possible: [YOUR *REVIEW LINK* ] Thank you for your continued support! Kind regards, [Your Name]*

3. Implement proactive review management

The best defense against lost reviews is a good offense – i.e., proactive review management:

1. Monitor your reviews regularly to quickly detect when any are lost
2. Back up important reviews through screenshots or using a review management tool
3. Ensure a steady flow of new reviews rather than collecting them in large batches
4. Respond thoughtfully to all reviews, showing that you actively engage with customer feedback

Protect your reviews with smart management tools

Losing Google reviews can be frustrating, but with the right approach and tools, you can minimize the impact and potentially recover valuable feedback.

Using a specialized local SEO tool like Localo offers you several advantages:

• Complete review tracking ensures you know exactly which reviews have disappeared
• Review archiving keeps copies of all feedback, even if Google removes it
• Response tracking saves your replies to reviews that may be deleted
• Review monitoring notifies you when reviews disappear, allowing you to take immediate action

Take action: Your next steps

Are you ready to take control of your Google reviews and strengthen your local SEO strategy? Here’s your action plan:

1. Check your current review situation to identify missing feedback
2. Connect your Google Business Profile to Localo to prevent future review losses
3. Contact customers whose reviews have disappeared
4. Appeal to Google to dispute unjustly removed reviews
5. Implement a consistent review generation strategy to steadily improve your online reputation

Don’t let missing reviews impact your visibility in local search or your customers’ trust. Take proactive measures today to protect this valuable asset!

Ready to never lose a valuable review again? Try Localo for free and take control of your local online presence!