In this thread two interesting questions were raised:
Can edits be made private?
How can you see how many edits are flagged private on a public profile on Google Maps?
I hope we can continue this debate below.
Cheers.
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@C_T ,
Where do you find the figures to calculate how many edits are flagged private on the public profile of a Local Guide on Google Maps? I know how to find out how many of my reviews and photos are flagged private by comparing my list of contributions to the same list shown in a Ăncognito tab. But I have never found data on badges. This is new to me and I’m eager to learn.
I would like to understand this before we discuss what kind of edits can be made private.
Cheers
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Thanks for creating a new thread @MortenCopenhagen
Let’s consider the same case from where the discussion started.
The stats on the main badge is as below
Thus, even though there are 30# approved credits, the fact finder badge accounts for 23# only as in this screenshot.
Still short of 2 to unlock the expert badge.
The apparent explanation for this will be “7# marked as private” as stated in the policy.
As I said earlier, private edit is not comprehensible to me also.
But the fact remains.
The count on the main badge tallies with points. However,
what matters for badges is the number visible on the individual entity.
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Arhhhh. Now I see it and I never noticed the badges before now. And I could not find them while checking on Desktop. That is why I got confused, @C_T .
Now, I can begin to trace and hopefully understand your arguments.
I will have a look and return later.
Good night.
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No. We never get any credit for pending edits. The points increase only when an edit is approved.
Further, there can be a delay in the update of the count on the main badge. In that case, the difference would be opposit. The main badge would show less number of edits than the fact-finder badge.
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Well argued, @C_T .
But why do you think there is less delay in the fact finder figures relative to the main figures?
Cheers
I basically agree with what @JeroenM wrote in the a.m. thread about private edit.
Regarding the difference in the numbers, I see several reasons for a difference.
An edit, to be shown on your edit list, should be associated to a POI. What happens if the POI not longer exists? I know that, because it happened to me. Let say that you find a duplicate POI, clear duplicate for you but not for Maps, so you cannot merge the two places, because the place have a different category, a small difference in the name, and the two places appear to be at 200 meters of distance.
According to what was suggested in Connect on several thread, to be able to merge the two places, you need to do this in steps:
- Change the category
- Change the name
- Change the position
Once the three edits are approved, you can make the final edit: merge the duplicate.
If your merge is approved, what happens to the “old” POI.
I believe that in this case the old POI will simply disappear, because it wasn’t a real POI. What will happen to your edits, that are associated to that POI?
They will not be longer visible, because associated to a not existing place.
In fact, while a closed POI still have an history, how can a not existing POI keep an history?
So in this case your edits are not displayed, even if they are counted for your points
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Thanks for the example. Everything you say makes sense. However, I am confused about the points.
I wouldn’t have asked, as I don’t pay much attention to them, but I do like to understand so I can answer questions when fellow LGs ask me about it.
Different people have told me in the last few months that points for Edits do NOT disappear when a POI gets permanently closed. Your example with the merge is similar.
You wrote:
"So in this case your edits are not displayed, even if they are counted for your points"
Yet, if we read the official points page, it still reads that:
Based on our current points and benefits structure, contributions made to points of interest or businesses that are on Google Maps do not expire. Contributions made to businesses that have permanently closed and have been removed from Google Maps will not count toward your Local Guides level.
I guess, the difference is in the permanently closed and still available in the database versus permanently closed (or simply removed) and no longer available in the database…
Is that correct?
Cheers!
JeroenM
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I believe a Google Moderator will clarify our doubt, @JeroenM , especially about the sentence “businesses that have permanently closed and have been removed from Google Maps”.
For me it means that you should have both conditions, or at least the last one, to lose your points.
According to the logic, if only one of the two conditions is sufficient, the sentence should be “businesses that have permanently closed or have been removed from Google Maps”.
Do you agree, @sonnyNg ?
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Hi everyone,
Thank you for having me included in the engaging debate! : ]
It took me a bit more time as to follow up the background from the post Correction don’t take approved.
What was mentioned in the Help desk article that was shared by @JeroenM , if a POI is being permanently closed as well as those being removed from Google Maps (let’s take for an example a location being merged to the original one) will null the points.
For the moment, please make sure to check the Help Desk articles closely, should it help clarifying inquiries from the community.
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It also takes time for us when your reply is referencing another document rather than plainly putting your point on paper. 
Also, I did not reference any documents in this discussion, do you mean this one
https://support.google.com/local-guides/answer/6225851?hl=en
referenced by Jeroen?
I wonder if the LG who permanently closed a place keeps credit for doing so?
And secondly could this reply
be somehow related to the issue at hand here?
Cheers
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Let me try to understand @sonnyNg
There is a big difference between a place that has been removed from the Maps (Fake business, or merged to the original one) and a permanently closed business. The word “permanently” is a bit tricky, because every business that is closed from a period longer than x weeks should be flagged by a Local Guides as “permanently closed”, but the same business can be reopened (I did it).
To show the status of the business I submitted a photo (maybe two) showing that the business was open, and I got the points for the photos immediately, even if my edit was approved after months. This make sense for me but, as a permanently closed business still on Google Maps, why should I loose the points for my edits, as my edits still valid?
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Hi @MortenCopenhagen , @ErmesT ,
Thank you for checking, as my apologies if what I have said would be puzzling at times!
I will make sure to check this more thoroughly. (the Help desk article was indeed towards the Points, levels, and badging, I will edit it back to the reply)
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I’m with you on this @ErmesT .
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My feeling @MortenCopenhagen , @sonnyNg is that the question should be addressed in a different way.
If I check my edit list on mobile and and on desktop I see two totally different lists:
On desktop I only see edits related to POIs, while on mobile I also see as “edits” the name of products (mainly dishes) that can be ADDED (for the dishes added by me) or SUGGESTED (for the correction or the addition on a dish name for photos not submitted by me).
My feeling is that, for the Fact Finder Badge, only the edits to the POIs are counted, while for the points also the dishes name are counted.
This make sense, and can explain why an edit (if we consider as an edit also a dish name) can be made private.
Regarding the help desk article, as I already said, the sentence “businesses that have permanently closed AND have been removed from Google Maps” for me means that you should have both conditions, or at least the last one, to lose your points.
Moving the example to the extreme condition, I can assume that, if I edit a place as closed, I will not receive any point for the edit, once the edit will be approved
According to the logic, if only one of the two conditions is sufficient to loose the points, the sentence should be “businesses that have permanently closed OR have been removed from Google Maps”.
I’m afraid we make this more complicated than necessary by not first agreeing 100% on what questions we are trying to answer.
If question 1 is Can edits be made private?
Then I think this is the correct answer:
No. The difference @C_T and ShohrabSahed saw between the main badge count of edits and edits listed under the Fact Finder Badge is likely due to the fact that the main badge count of edits include Photo tags as I suggested in this thread. And because the Fact Finder count of edits does not count Photo tags. This also explains the help texts he showed.
If the second question is How can you see how many edits are flagged private on a public profile on Google Maps?
If the first reply is correct, then this question becomes obsolete because edits can not be made private as suggest quite a few times now. I will give @C_T this: that Photo tags most likely can be made private since they can be used to post spam.
And this also makes @ErmesT 's arguments about losing points valid. If you edit the category of a secondary place to match that of the primary place before a merge, and you then successfully merge the two, then your points for fixing the category of the secondary place will evaporate (disappear) the moment the merge happens. Likewise, we keep points for edits made to places that are marked permanently closed because they are still in the database.
Do you guys agree?
I’m happy to stand corrected if you come up with a better and more plausible explanation.
Cheers
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Thanks @MortenCopenhagen
The logic seems to be the right one.
Btw the point is not if we agree, but if what you summarize is correct or not, because this can help us to understand the numbers.
I personally don’t pay too much attention to my points, but I like to understand the logic that is behind a number
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Thank you @MortenCopenhagen and @ErmesT and @sonnyNg for pushing this query further forward. I think we all conclude the same logic, but as @ErmesT said it is important that we know for sure that this is the correct answer, so we can actually confidently help other people when these point issues arise.
Good stuff and a great start of the week. 
Warm regards,
JeroenM
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