The honest answer from Reddit is that you cannot just delete a Google review you dislike, and no one can guarantee its removal. You can only report a review that breaks Google’s policies and wait to see if Google agrees. That lines up with our full guide on how to remove a fake or policy-violating Google review: a business cannot remove a genuine negative review, only flag ones that violate the rules.
What Reddit says you can and cannot remove
In an r/SEO thread, the blunt summary is that you cannot really remove reviews; if one goes against Google policy, you can report it, and that is the only real lever. A r/GoogleMyBusiness thread on removing bad reviews puts it plainly: there is no magic switch, and if a review truly violates policy, Google will remove it eventually on its own timeline. If it is just negative but genuine, it stays.
For fake or coordinated attack reviews, Reddit’s practical advice is to report them to Google Business Profile support directly with screenshots of the reviews and any related messages, and to use Google’s own request review removal process. Reports are often denied, and appeals can take time, so patience matters more than any trick.
The removal scams Reddit keeps flagging
A large share of these threads are not about removal at all, but about scams built around it. Owners describe emails claiming they can remove a bad review for a fee, and the top replies are consistent: Google never emails businesses offering to remove reviews, so that message is a scam. In another thread, commenters recommend crossposting to r/Scams because anyone demanding payment to remove reviews is almost certainly running a con. The rule of thumb across the forums: if a service guarantees removal, walk away.
So the realistic playbook is narrow. Report reviews that clearly break policy, escalate fake attacks to Google with evidence, and ignore anyone who promises guaranteed takedowns for money.
When removal is off the table, the better move is to answer the review. A calm, specific public reply often does more for future customers than a deletion would, and our guide on how to respond to Google reviews walks through exactly how.
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