You can delete a Google review you wrote in 90 seconds: open Google Maps on desktop, click the three-line menu, select "Your contributions", tap "Reviews", find the review, click the three-dot menu, and choose "Delete review". On mobile, open the Google Maps app, tap your profile picture, select "Your contributions", tap "Reviews", tap the three-dot menu next to the review, and choose "Delete". The review disappears within 24 hours - usually instantly. You cannot delete a review someone else wrote about you; that requires a policy-based flag or a legal removal request. If you want to edit rather than delete, use the same menu and pick "Edit review" - the star rating and text refresh without losing the review's date stamp.
I am Adam. I lead growth at BGR Review and I have walked more than 4,000 customers through review edits, deletions, and disputes on Google since 2019. Most people search for this because they left a review in anger, got the wrong business, or the business fixed the problem and they want to update the record. This guide covers all three paths, plus what to do when the menu is missing or the "Delete" option is greyed out.
Delete a Google review on desktop (browser)
- Open google.com/maps in Chrome, Safari, Edge, or Firefox and sign in with the Google account that wrote the review.
- Click the three horizontal lines in the top-left corner of the map.
- Select Your contributions from the menu.
- Click the Reviews tab at the top of the panel.
- Scroll to the review you want to remove. Click the three vertical dots next to the star rating.
- Choose Delete review. Confirm on the popup.
The review vanishes from the business profile within a few minutes, though the platform states up to 24 hours for global cache refresh. There is no notification sent to the business - they see the review count drop and, if they track individually, notice the missing star.
Delete a Google review on the mobile app (iPhone and Android)
- Open the Google Maps app. Make sure you are signed into the account that wrote the review (top-right profile circle).
- Tap your profile picture in the top right.
- Tap Your contributions.
- Tap the Reviews tab at the top.
- Find the review. Tap the three-dot menu beside it.
- Tap Delete, then confirm.
iPhone and Android use identical menus in the current Google Maps app (v11.140 and newer). If you do not see the three-dot menu, force-close the app and reopen - a stale session sometimes hides the edit controls.
Edit instead of delete (recommended if the business fixed the problem)
Editing preserves the review's original date and search weight. A three-year-old review edited today still shows "3 years ago" and keeps its position in the local ranking signal. Deleting and re-writing creates a fresh review that is subject to Google's spam filters, which sometimes suppress a positive review from an account with a recent negative deletion. Use edit whenever possible.
- Follow steps 1-5 above (desktop or mobile).
- Choose Edit review instead of Delete.
- Update the star rating and text. Add photos if you have them.
- Tap Post or Save.
Delete a review from a Google account you no longer use
If you posted from an old account and cannot recover the password, the review stays public until you either regain access or delete the entire Google account (which removes every review from it). Try Google's account recovery at accounts.google.com/signin/recovery first - it now accepts phone numbers you have not used in over a decade. Deleting the whole account should be a last resort; it also removes Gmail, Drive, and Photos data.
Common problems and fixes
The three-dot menu does not appear
You are signed into the wrong account. Google only shows the delete menu on reviews written by the currently active account. Switch accounts from your profile picture (top right) and try again. On shared devices, this trips up nine out of ten users.
"Delete" is greyed out
This happens when the review is under moderation - usually because someone flagged it. Wait 48 hours; the option unlocks once the flag is resolved. If it stays locked longer, contact Google Maps support via support.google.com/maps/contact/mapsedits.
The review comes back after deletion
Almost always a cache issue. The public profile refreshes at Google's own pace, and a shared or incognito browser can show a stale copy for up to 72 hours. Check from a signed-out browser after three days; if it still shows, refresh your own review list and delete again - occasionally the first delete does not commit.
You wrote the review from the wrong business location
Edit rather than delete. Change the location by tapping the business name in the edit view and picking the correct one. The star rating carries over to the right profile.
What you cannot do
- Delete a review someone else wrote about your business. That requires flagging under Google's prohibited-content policy (spam, off-topic, conflict of interest, harassment) or a court order for defamatory content. See our Google review removal guide.
- Delete a specific review without signing in. Google requires account authentication - anonymous review deletion is not possible.
- Bulk-delete reviews. There is no export or multi-select. Each review must be deleted individually. Users with 200+ reviews sometimes report script attempts through Chrome extensions; Google can suspend accounts that automate this.
- Delete a review a friend wrote from your device. The account owner has to sign in and delete it themselves.
Does deleting a review hurt your Google account?
No. Deleting your own reviews has no penalty and does not affect your Local Guides points beyond removing the points awarded for that specific review. Local Guides who delete more than 30% of their historical reviews sometimes see a temporary drop in badge status; the badge restores within one review cycle.
When a business asks you to delete a legitimate review
You are under no obligation. Google's policy prohibits businesses from offering compensation - discounts, gifts, refunds - in exchange for review removal. If a business offers this, you can flag them for review gating (open the business profile, tap the three-dot menu, choose "Report this profile"). Legitimate refund conversations should happen separately from the review; the two are not linked.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take for a deleted review to disappear?
Usually seconds. Global cache refresh takes up to 24 hours in edge cases. Signed-out browsers and mobile Maps can show a stale copy for 48-72 hours.
Can I recover a review I deleted by mistake?
No. Google does not store deleted reviews. You would need to re-write it, which creates a new post with the current date.
Will the business be notified I deleted my review?
Google does not send a notification. Businesses that track reviews through a tool like BGR Review's dashboard or Google Business Profile Insights will see the star count change and, on inspection, spot the missing review.
Can I delete only part of a review?
Yes - use Edit review and remove the text you want to drop. The rating stays.
What if I posted a review and then the business retaliated against me?
Screenshot the retaliation, keep the review up, and flag the business under Google's harassment policy. Deleting your review at that point removes your public record of the incident.
Bottom line
Deleting your own Google review takes 90 seconds through Your contributions. Edit whenever the business has genuinely fixed the problem - it preserves the review's date and search weight. If the delete option is missing, you are on the wrong account or the review is under moderation. And if you are trying to remove a review someone else wrote about your business, that is a different process entirely - our removal team handles it on a pay-after-success basis with a 30-day guarantee.