Google review policy: personal information

The rule, in Google's words

Google's Prohibited and restricted content page defines personal information as "information that applies to a living identifiable person" where "disclosure could result in risk of harm". It bars:

Content which contains personal information of another posted without their consent such as: full name, or last name, their face in a photograph or a video, or other information which has been reported as having been posted without consent.

Personally identifiable information and other personal information about yourself or others including financial information, medical information or personal identification information.

The exception follows. Google allows "an individual's name if they are a public-facing professional conducting business under their name", and its list starts with "Doctors, lawyers, realtors". It also allows names of "CEOs and other executive level employees" whose role is publicly known.

What this rule does not cover

• The treating doctor's name, or the founder's.
• The business's own phone number, email or social handles.
• The reviewer's own first name or story.

Google's report page sets the general limit: "Do not report a review just because you disagree with it or dislike it."

Evidence that supports a report

• The detail, quoted: the full name, the number, the street, the diagnosis.
• Who it belongs to. A staff member, a patient other than the reviewer, a relative.
• No consent. One line saying the person did not agree. The person named can also report the review themselves.

Examples

These examples are ours. They are written to show the rule and are not real reviews. The cards at the top of this page show one review that can qualify and one that stays.

How to report it

A business reports a review from its Business Profile or from Google's Reviews Management Tool. Google says evaluation typically takes several days, and each review gets one appeal.

Choose the personal information or privacy reason. The proof is on the page, so the first report can stand alone. The named person can also file their own report, which helps. Google's policy page links to separate instructions for that.

For health brands

For a health brand the second risk is your own reply. A reply that confirms someone was a patient can breach HIPAA, even when the review is false. Report the review, and keep any reply general. Our HIPAA-safe reply guide has wording you can use.

Where to go next

The main Google review removal page sets out the report and appeal steps. For threats and abuse aimed at staff, see offensive content. The qualification tool checks a review against Google's policies in a few questions.

For help with your own profile, start with our Google review removal service. Our review removal pricing is per confirmed removal, with nothing up front.