If your Google Business Profile suddenly shows fewer reviews than it did last week, you are not imagining it, and you are not alone.
Google confirmed this week that a bug in its spam detection system is stripping legitimate reviews from Business Profiles and, in some cases, blocking new reviews from posting at all. Some business owners are watching their star ratings slide toward zero as reviews vanish, with no firm timeline yet for a fix. A Google spokesperson said the company is investigating and will restore any reviews removed in error.
This is not Google targeting anyone on purpose. The pattern suggests the spam filters got too aggressive, likely reacting to a spike in fake reviews or a recent tightening of the detection algorithm, and legitimate customer feedback is getting caught in the net along with the spam. For now the process is reactive: you notice the problem, you report it, and you wait for Google to sort it out on their end.
That waiting period matters more than it might seem. Reviews are often the first thing a potential customer checks before they ever pick up the phone or fill out a form, so a sudden drop in count or rating, even a temporary and technical one, can quietly cost you trust at exactly the wrong moment.
Here is what to do while Google works through this:
Check your Google Business Profile today for missing reviews or a rating that dropped without explanation.
Screenshot your current review count and star rating so you have a record to compare against once things settle.
Report any incorrectly removed reviews through the Google Business Profile Help Forum; documented reports help Google see the full scope of the bug.
Keep asking satisfied customers for reviews on your normal schedule. Pausing now just means a bigger backlog to work through later.
Watch your rating over the next few weeks rather than reacting to a single day's snapshot, since Google says corrections are coming.
None of this is something you caused, and none of it is something you can fully control. The businesses that ride it out best are the ones that keep collecting reviews steadily in the background instead of pausing their efforts or panicking over a short-term glitch.
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