How Star Photo and Video Leaderboards Handle Inactive, Hidden, or Removed Photos

[AdamGT]

Introduction

Keeping in mind that when we talk about star photos and star videos we are referring to our most viewed photo and video on Maps, how should the Star Photo and Star Video leaderboards handle entries when the star stops updating, a profile becomes hidden, or a star disappears from Google Maps such as when the place no longer exists or the star photo or video is hidden?

This is a fair question that comes up from time to time, especially from a competitive standpoint. To understand the rules, it helps to look at how different leaderboards are calculated and, more importantly, the core mission behind the Leaderboards.

Authenticated Snapshots vs. Ongoing Updates

To be included in the Star Photos/Videos leaderboards, participants must submit an initial screenshot verifying their star and its view count. Participating Local Guides add their stars in the album of star photos and the album of star videos.

• If views increase: Participants submit a new screenshot to update their count.
• If views remain unchanged: Participants only need to update their caption date to confirm the count is still current.

Requiring fresh screenshots for views that haven’t moved creates unnecessary admin work. As long as a photo has an authenticated screenshot on record in the album of star photos (for example the verified star photo shown in the screenshot below reaching 218M views as of 12 March 2024), that data point remains valid in our system.

The "Self-Cleansing" Mechanism Average Views/Day Boards

Not keeping a caption current excludes a star from certain dynamic boards. Furthermore, while most leaderboards rank by cumulative total views, boards like #416 and #417 are calculated based on average views per day over the life of the star.

This creates an inherent self-cleansing feature:

• If a photo’s views stall, stop updating, or the photo is removed altogether from Maps, its total view count stays frozen.
• However, the elapsed time (the denominator) continues to grow every day.
• As a result, its daily view average steadily declines, naturally pushing inactive stars down the ranking until they drop off these boards entirely without requiring manual removal.

Total View Boards & The Learning Objective

On boards ranked by total cumulative views (for example boards #405, #409 and #413), historical entries continue to be listed based on their last authenticated star count—even if a profile link is currently hidden or a photo no longer appears on the Place of Interest (POI). Why you may well ask? Well…

While removing unverified or deleted photos might seem cleaner competitively, manually tracking down and investigating every photo and video across many hundreds of participants isn’t feasible. However, more importantly, it misses the primary objective of the Star Leaderboards: learning what content the Google Maps AI prefers and why. (See my foundational post where I ask: Is there a reason why sometimes the least expected photo can be the star?)

Our primary goal has always been educational. Analyzing high-performing photos—regardless of whether they are active today—helps all of us understand what makes a photo successful and improves our overall contribution quality. A photo that achieved 218M views on 12 March 2024 still offers valuable insights today.

What are your thoughts on how the dynamic decay boards balance out the historical total boards? Feel free to share your thoughts below!

[Kumaarsantosh]

Very helpful guide for the Top 100 participants, @AdamGT. This also makes the monthly update process much easier by providing clear guidelines, especially in cases where there is no change in the view count for Star Photo and Video.

I follow the same approach for my Star Photo, as its view count has remained stagnant for more than a year. I only update the caption and keep the photo unchanged.

[PrasadVR]

@AdamGT

• If views increase: Participants submit a new screenshot to update their count.
• If views remain unchanged: Participants only need to update their caption date to confirm the count is still current.

Thanks for sharing this update @AdamGT . If views remain unchanged could you kindly clarify whether the ‘History table’ needs to be updated in the album of star photos and the album of star videos.

@AdamGT

Feel free to share your thoughts below!

I suggest that if views remain unchanged, updating just the caption date is enough, so skipping the History table too will save time and keep it simple.

[AdamGT]

Thanks for your comments @Kumaarsantosh and that’s the same approach I follow. What are your thoughts on the point I was making about whether or not stars should be listed on the Leaderboards if the Local Guide’s profile is hidden, or the POI not longer exists, or the star photo no longer appears on the POI?

[AdamGT]

@PrasadVR

Thanks for sharing this update @AdamGT . If views remain unchanged could you kindly clarify whether the ‘History table’ needs to be updated in the album of star photos and the album of star videos…I suggest that if views remain unchanged, updating just the caption date is enough, so skipping the History table too will save time and keep it simple.

Thanks for chiming in @PrasadVR. Many Local Guides including myself add and maintain a star views history table together with the details on their star listing in the album however this is optional, totally up to you. It is not a mandatory requirement. I do understand the point you’re making, why go to that extra effort if the views don’t change. My personal view is that anyone can look at the table and immediately at a glance understand what’s happening with your star. Even though both the caption to be used and the views history table are automatically generated for you, requiring simply copying and pasting into your post, it is entirely up to you. I suggest a good compromise would be to add and where necessary maintain a note along the lines “While my photo of … is still my star photo, the star views haven’t changed since …”.

I’m interested in what are your thoughts on the point I was making in my post about whether or not stars should be listed on the Leaderboards if the Local Guide’s profile is hidden, or the POI not longer exists, or the star photo no longer appears on the POI?

[Annaelisa]

@PrasadVR Ich finde die Übersicht trotzdem gut, weil die Entwicklung in der Übersicht dargestellt wird.

@AdamGT Ich finde es richtig, dass ausgeblendete Profile nicht teilnehmen. Man interessiert sich vielleicht dafür und will sich die Fotos in Google Maps anschauen.

[Annaelisa]

@AdamGT
Zu diesem fantastischen Bild mit den sagenhaften Aufrufen wollte ich gerne wissen, was damit passiert ist.
Leider ist das Profil ausgeblendet und am Bahnhof ist das Bild auch nicht zu sehen.

Was ist also damit passiert? @SvenJacobs

[Kumaarsantosh]

@AdamGT

What are your thoughts on the point I was making about whether or not stars should be listed on the Leaderboards if the Local Guide’s profile is hidden, or the POI not longer exists, or the star photo no longer appears on the POI?

IMO, even in such scenarios, I feel the Star should continue to be listed on the Leaderboards, @AdamGT.

The way I see it, the purpose of these Leaderboards is to showcase and celebrate the Stars, rather than simply brag about the number of views. What matters is that the Star had a significant impact at some point, and I believe that achievement should be appreciated.

Keeping them on the Leaderboard also provides a learning opportunity for others, allowing them to explore and understand what made these contributions stand out. I agree that these Stars may no longer be live or available on Google Maps due to any one, or a combination, of the reasons mentioned above.

However, I feel we should not break this learning curve unless the owners themselves choose to change or remove their Stars; which, in any case, is beyond our control.

Secondly, I strongly feel that even when there is no change in the Star’s view count, the Star Views table should still be updated every month in addition to updating the caption.

This will provide a clear picture of the current status and make it easier to track the journey over time; whether the views are increasing, remaining stagnant, or showing any movement periodically.

[PrasadVR]

@AdamGT

I was making in my post about whether or not stars should be listed on the Leaderboards if the Local Guide’s profile is hidden,

If a profile is hidden, the star photo shouldn’t be on the leaderboard because they chose privacy.

@AdamGT

I was making in my post about whether or not stars should be listed on the Leaderboards if the Local Guide’s profile is hidden, or the POI not longer exists, or the star photo no longer appears on the POI?

I think it should be considered as long as the photo is available in the contributions list on Google Maps.

[PrasadVR]

@Annaelisa

I still think the overview is good because the development is shown in the overview.

@Annaelisa understand your point; I just thought it would keep the process simpler.

@AdamGT

Many Local Guides including myself add and maintain a star views history table together with the details on their star listing in the album however this is optional, totally up to you.

@AdamGT , I always update my caption and history table regularly; my suggestion was just to keep things simpler.

[Annaelisa]

Ich finde, durch die Neugestaltung, ich wähle immer die Funktion als Bild zufügen, ist es schon sehr einfach geworden, die Tabelle ins Album zu übertragen. @PrasadVR gegenüber vorher finde ich es sehr einfach @AdamGT

[marcorp]

@AdamGT Hi Adam. I wanted to ask you something; I’ve been a bit confused about how to register my star photo, star video, and overall stats over the last few months. If possible, could you briefly explain the steps to update them?

[curatorofmemory]

@AdamGT . Very well explained. Thanks. Sometimes it is best to avoid looking for a logic when there is none. Like God, the algorithm works in mysterious ways

[StevenBerlin]

@AdamGT hello Adam and all. Even though i don’t participate on this board because I find it too difficult lol, I will share my thoughts. I think it should count even if the profile is private. My reason: some people want to be private especially with all the social media invasion out there. It does not take away that the image count still exists. One condition… if you are not able to verify it through your program, then no. It should not count.

2. If a POI has been removed, then i still think it is okay to be counted since it did exist with a big number. It also is good for us viewers to see these once featured photos.

Just my 2c on this topic.

[AdamGT]

@Annaelisa

@PrasadVR I still think the overview is good because the development is shown in the overview.

That’s true @Annaelisa, the history table shows the development of the star and it does it quickly. It gives a quick overview/picture of the life of the star.

@Annaelisa

@AdamGT I think it’s right that hidden profiles don’t participate. People might be interested in them and want to view the photos in Google Maps.

Perhaps this is a translation problem that I’m having here as it seems in the first sentence you are saying no and in the next you are saying yes. @WilfriedB can you help with this translation?

[AdamGT]

@Annaelisa

@AdamGT
I wanted to know what happened to this fantastic image with its incredible number of views.
Unfortunately, the profile is hidden and the picture is not visible at the train station either.

So what happened to it? @SvenJacobs

@Annaelisa, I have no idea and perhaps Sven will enlighten us.

[AdamGT]

@Kumaarsantosh

IMO, even in such scenarios, I feel the Star should continue to be listed on the Leaderboards, @AdamGT…What matters is that the Star had a significant impact at some point, and I believe that achievement should be appreciated.

As clearly indicated in the opening post, I have the same view @Kumaarsantosh

@Kumaarsantosh

Keeping them on the Leaderboard also provides a learning opportunity for others, allowing them to explore and understand what made these contributions stand out. I agree that these Stars may no longer be live or available on Google Maps due to any one, or a combination, of the reasons mentioned above.

That’s precisely my view Santosh.

@Kumaarsantosh

Secondly, I strongly feel that even when there is no change in the Star’s view count, the Star Views table should still be updated every month in addition to updating the caption.

While the intention of the history table has always been that it is optional, I acknowledge the points made by @PrasadVR. What I like about these thought provoking posts is that they bring out the feelings of the community and listening here, I will refine the process and options. For example, what if it was made possible not to even need to update the caption

@Kumaarsantosh

This will provide a clear picture of the current status and make it easier to track the journey over time; whether the views are increasing, remaining stagnant, or showing any movement periodically.

Yes the history table does just that and in fact this is precisely the reason why the option was introduced. However, even though the process has been very much automated and made simple mainly driven the mobile users such as @Annaelisa, there is a process that one needs to go through to update and the point being made by Prasad is why update if there is not change? While the intent of this post was more to discuss should a star continue to be listed on the Leaderboards if the Local Guide’s profile changes to hidden, or a star disappears from Google Maps such as when the place no longer exists or the star photo or video is hidden, I think there is a way we can cover all of the options regarding the history table.

[AdamGT]

For the reasons given in the post and my several replies to comments above, my views are different to you here @PrasadVR.

[nigelfreeney]

HI @AdamGT

@AdamGT

To be included in the Star Photos/Videos leaderboards, participants must submit an initial screenshot verifying their star and its view count. Participating Local Guides add their stars in the album of star photos and the album of star videos.

But I have seldom used the original image because it’s a faff to keep producing. I use a template in Photoshop (other editors are available). As you can see by your copied image below, no one would question its authenticity.

I’m not sure there is a solution to the problem I identified. I just think we should be aware of the potential for misuse. I understand the thinking behind the best picture ever. But if the best picture ever was then adjusted/removed by Google is that a valid aspiration or an example of what Google is looking for now. Maybe that it should be a change to current images only. For some that could mean dropping off the table and then coming back. As long as they are visible within the images of the POI they count. If they drop in value this should also be reflected in the submissions.

Of course, it’s not like you have anything else to do

[AdamGT]

@marcorp

@AdamGT Hi Adam. I wanted to ask you something; I’ve been a bit confused about how to register my star photo, star video, and overall stats over the last few months. If possible, could you briefly explain the steps to update them?

While a little off topic here @marcorp, and while I have answered this recently but cannot find it, let’s see if I can quickly guide you:

A - Your Stars: Regarding your stars (i.e. most viewed), if you haven’t already done so then here is a simple way to get started:

1. Take a screenshot of each of your stars clearly showing their views.
2. Add the screenshots in comments on the star photo album and/or star video album.
3. In your comments use the Share a link to this post to get their permalinks (i.e. the address of each of your stars in the respective albums).
4. Add the details of each star including their permalink on the Leaderboard System.
5. The steps 1 to 4 above are the basic steps to get your stars listed. The next step is to revisit the album posts and follow the steps outlined in Section 3 How to add your star photo in this album to add more details (e.g. a description, links to the POI on Maps etc).

B - Your Overall Stats:

Regarding checking and where necessary updating your overall contribution stats, I doubt I could do a better job at explaining this than @WilfriedB and @PrasadVR have done in their following posts:

1. Your core Maps Contribution Data, and
2. Your mobile badge data

I hope that helps you Marco. So now I’m interested in your thoughts on the point I was making about whether or not stars should be listed on the Leaderboards if the Local Guide’s profile is hidden, or the POI not longer exists, or the star photo no longer appears on the POI