Google reviews cannot be turned off. They cannot be disabled, filtered, or hidden, no matter what you pay for the listing. It is not a setting buried in a menu. It does not exist.
The reason is simple: a Business Profile is a record Google keeps about your business, not a page you own. The reviews on it belong to Google, and the only thing you can do with one is report it for breaking Google's rules.
Almost nobody who asks this actually wants the reviews gone entirely. Behind it is usually one review, an outdated rating, or a listing you never set up. This page works through all three.
Can you turn off, disable, or filter Google reviews?
No, no, and no, the same answer said three ways. A listing has settings for hours, photos, messages, and access, but no review toggle, on any plan, since Google sells no paid version of a profile.
"If you come across a review on your Business Profile that violates Google's policies, you can report it."
Google Business Profile Help, read September 14, 2026
Reporting is not turning reviews off or clearing them in bulk. It applies to one review for one reason, repeatable for the next one but never done all at once. Filtering by how happy the customer was is also not possible, and Google requires close to the opposite: asking anyone, regardless of how satisfied they were.
"Requiring or encouraging the posting of content that reflects a genuine customer experience without offering incentives associated with it."
Maps User Generated Content Policy, read September 14, 2026
A tool that asks how happy customers were first, then only sends the happy ones on to leave a review, does the opposite. Google treats it as a violation, not a feature.
If I hide a review widget on my own website, does that turn off Google reviews?
No. A widget is a separate display of some reviews, and removing it changes nothing about the Business Profile on Maps and in search. The reviews stay visible to anyone who searches your business name, outside your control either way. A widget is a mirror, not a switch.
Can I turn off just the negative reviews and keep the good ones?
No. Nothing in a Business Profile filters reviews by star rating, keyword, or sentiment before they publish. Every review meeting Google's content policy stays visible, one star or five. The only lever is the report button above, and it only works on a review that breaks a rule.
What are you actually trying to solve?
It is almost never about switching reviews off entirely. It is usually one of three things: one specific review that hurt you, a rating that no longer describes the business as it runs today, or a listing you never set up yourself.
One thing does not belong on this list. If someone is asking for money to take a review down, that is extortion, with its own answer on the review extortion page.
How do you get rid of one specific review?
This is not about turning anything off, it is about reporting, and it depends on whether the review actually breaks the rules or you simply do not like it. Google draws that line explicitly.
"Don't report reviews just because you disagree with them."
Google Business Profile Help, read September 14, 2026
A review that describes a real visit, even an unpleasant one, does not break the rules, and reporting it goes nowhere. A review from someone who was never a customer, one that is off-topic, or part of an extortion attempt does. The fake review page covers gathering proof, picking a reason, and appealing a rejection.
What if the rating no longer matches the business?
This usually happens after a change of ownership or a renovation, and the answer is unwelcome: reviews stay with the business name, not with today's owner.
"Businesses under new management: If a business gets a new owner or manager but keeps the same name, reviews stay."
Google Business Profile Help, read September 14, 2026
The same rule applies to a minor name change:
"For minor name changes: If a business slightly modifies its name, or if a business with several locations is renamed, reviews stay."
same source
That is deliberate. Reviews belong to the place and the name, not to whoever runs it, otherwise handing a business off on paper would erase its old reviews too. In practice, reply to an old review factually and let honestly earned new reviews shift the average. Slower than a switch, and the only path that exists.
What if a listing was created that you never made?
This happens, and the fix is not deleting it, it is claiming it. Google can generate a listing on its own from public information, and until the business claims it, whoever signs in first manages it.
"unclaimed listings leave your business more vulnerable and increase the risk of attacks"
Google Business Profile Help, read September 14, 2026
Claiming it typically takes about ten minutes, and from that point the listing is under your control. If your business genuinely does not meet the condition Google requires for a profile at all, serving customers in person during posted hours, that is a different case.
"To be eligible for a Business Profile, a business must interact with customers face-to-face during its stated hours."
Google's business eligibility guidelines, read September 14, 2026
At that point it is not about turning reviews off, it is about removing the business from Google entirely, and that is its own separate request with its own process, not a step along the way to something else.
Would deleting the listing entirely help?
Almost never, and it is worth knowing that before you do it, because this decision cannot be undone. Deleting a listing does not delete the reviews on it, it deletes your own work around them.
"All posts, photos, videos, and owner or manager responses to reviews will be permanently removed. User-generated content and reviews will remain."
Google Business Profile Help, read September 14, 2026
Years of replies, photos, and posts disappear. The reviews that brought you to this page stay exactly where they were, because they were never yours. And it cannot be reversed.
"Deleted content cannot be restored or managed."
same source
Managing the business on Google again afterward means verification from scratch, as if the listing never existed. That is different from having the business removed from Google and Maps entirely, the separate request above; confusing the two erases your own work for nothing.
Does a review card sort or filter which reviews show?
Valtela does not sort or filter reviews either. It offers a Google review next to a private message to the owner, side by side, at $599 a year for the license and $79 a year for an extra card, as shown on the pricing page.
Where should you go from here?
If one specific review brought you here, the fake review page covers the full reporting process and a rejected appeal. If it is really your own reply that is not showing up, the reply page covers that. And for everything Google allows around reviews, not just what it forbids, the Google review policy page lays it out with sources.
Sources
Every citation on this page comes from one of these pages. The link goes to the original source, not to our summary of it.
- Report inappropriate reviews on your Business Profile - Google Business Profile Help
- Prohibited & restricted content - Maps User Generated Content Policy Help
- Move your reviews across Business Profiles - Google Business Profile Help
- Help protect your Google Business Profile - Google Business Profile Help
- Business eligibility and ownership guidelines - Google Business Profile Help
- Remove a Business Profile from your Google Account - Google Business Profile Help