Google review policy: what a restaurant, bar or tour may and may not do to get reviews
Google's review policy lets a business ask every customer for an honest review, and bans the rest: no discount, freebie or payment in return, no asking only the guests you expect to be happy, no reviews from staff, family or competitors, and no pressure to write one on the spot. Break it and Google removes the reviews and can pause new ones or put a warning on your profile.
Key takeaways
- Asking for reviews is allowed, by link, QR code or in person, as long as you ask without an incentive and without steering the rating or the words.
- Review gating, sending only happy customers to Google, is against the policy, which bars selectively asking for positive reviews.
- Asking staff to collect a set number of reviews, or reviews that name a staff member, is listed as a violation.
- Reviews from current or former employees, family, contractors or competitors count as a conflict of interest and are removed.
- In the US, the FTC's 2024 rule also bans buying reviews that express a particular sentiment and threats used to get negative ones taken down.
What does Google's review policy allow, and what does it ban?
- Allowed
- Asking customers to post a review of a genuine experience, without offering anything for it and without trying to influence the rating or what the review says. Google's own help suggests a review link or a QR code, which our free Google review link tool makes for you. How to ask well is in our guide to getting more Google reviews.
- Banned
- Anything that makes a review less than an honest account of a visit: an incentive, a review from someone with a conflict of interest, asking only the guests likely to be happy, discouraging negative reviews, pressure on the premises, or a request for specific words.
| Allowed | Not allowed | |
|---|---|---|
| How you ask | A review link, a QR code on the receipt or table card, a line in your follow-up email | Requiring a review, or pressing guests to write it before they leave |
| Who you ask | Every customer, whatever you expect them to say | Only the guests who said they enjoyed it (review gating) |
| What you offer | Nothing; a thank-you in your reply | A discount, a free dessert, a drink or a payment for a review, or for changing one |
| What you ask for | An honest review in the guest's own words | Five stars, set phrases, or a named server in the review |
| Who writes | Customers who had a real experience | Staff, former staff, family, contractors, or you on a competitor's profile |
Source1
Is review gating against Google's policy?
Yes. The policy says merchants may not discourage or prohibit negative reviews, or selectively solicit positive reviews from customers. A feedback form that sends four- and five-star answers to Google and the rest to a private inbox does exactly that. Ask everyone the same way, and deal with the unhappy ones in your replies and in person.1
Can a restaurant offer a discount for a Google review?
No. Payment, discounts, free goods and free services are all named as incentives, whether they are offered for a new review, for revising one or for removing a negative one. A free coffee for showing a posted review at the counter counts too. Google's help on getting reviews calls this fake and misleading content and says it is strictly prohibited.1
Can staff ask guests for reviews?
Yes, if they ask without pressure and without steering the words. The policy names two things a manager must not do: ask staff to bring in a certain number of reviews, and ask staff to get reviews with specific content, including content that names a staff member. A league table of servers by reviews mentioning them breaks both. It also says merchants should not require or pressure guests to rate or review while they are still on the premises.1
Can employees or family leave Google reviews?
No. Google treats a review as based on a conflict of interest when it comes from current or former employment, a contractual or consulting relationship, or a personal tie such as family or a competitor. Those reviews are removed. Posting on a competitor's profile to hurt its reputation is banned in its own right.1
What happens if you break Google's review policy?
Google removes the reviews and can add restrictions to the profile: no new reviews or ratings for a set time, existing reviews unpublished for a set time, or a warning telling customers that fake reviews were removed. It emails the owner before applying one, and the decision can be appealed.3
How strictly does Google enforce it?
Strictly, with automated systems and human analysts. Google says that in 2025 its systems and analysts blocked or removed over 292 million policy-violating reviews and placed posting restrictions on more than 782,000 accounts. When it sees a sudden spike in spam reviews on a profile, it now pauses new reviews and shows a banner telling customers why.6
Does US law say anything about fake reviews?
Yes. The Federal Trade Commission's final rule, announced in August 2024, bans businesses from buying or selling fake reviews, from offering incentives conditioned on a review expressing a particular sentiment, and from undisclosed reviews by officers and managers. It also bans review suppression: unfounded legal threats, intimidation or false accusations used to get a negative review taken down. The FTC can seek civil penalties against knowing violators.5
What can I do about a review that breaks the rules?
Report it from your profile with the reason, such as spam or a conflict of interest, and follow it in Google's Reviews Management Tool. Google only removes reviews that break its policies, and says it does not take sides in disputes between a business and a customer, so a fair but harsh review stays. Reply to that one instead; our review reply generator drafts a calm answer.4
Questions
What is Google's review policy?
It is the set of rules in Google Maps' prohibited and restricted content policy. Reviews have to reflect a genuine experience, and businesses may not offer incentives, ask only happy customers, use staff or family reviews, or pressure customers to write one.
Do table QR codes or review cards break Google's review policy?
No. Google's help suggests a review link or a QR code. What breaks the policy is requiring or pressuring a guest to review before they leave, or offering something for it.
Can I ask a customer to change or remove a negative review?
You can reply and put the problem right, and customers can edit their review after reading your reply. Offering a refund, a discount or anything else in return for changing or removing it is a banned incentive.
Is review gating allowed on Google?
No. Google's policy says businesses may not discourage negative reviews or selectively solicit positive ones, which is what review gating does.
Can I pay a company to get me Google reviews?
You can pay for software or a service that sends review requests to your real customers, as long as it asks everyone and offers nothing for a review. Paying for the reviews themselves is not allowed: Google removes reviews that are not a genuine experience, and in the US the FTC's rule bans buying fake reviews.
What happens if Google finds fake reviews on my profile?
It removes them and can stop new reviews for a set time, unpublish existing reviews for a set time, or show customers a warning. It emails the owner first, and the restriction can be appealed.
Sources
- Maps User Generated Content Policy Help, Prohibited & restricted content · read
- Google Business Profile Help, Tips to get more reviews · read
- Google Business Profile Help, Business Profile restrictions for policy violations · read
- Google Business Profile Help, Report inappropriate reviews on your Business Profile · read
- Federal Trade Commission, FTC announces final rule banning fake reviews and testimonials (14 August 2024) · read
- Google, New ways we're protecting businesses on Maps (2025 Trust & Safety highlights) · read
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