How to leave us

Choose the best way to stop being a Local Guide

Should you wish to stop being a Local Guide this can be done in different ways. Some ways will have negative consequences for your use of other Google services and some actions can not be undone. So there is a lot to consider when you want to leave. This post will help you find the way that is best for you.

How you want to leave depends on why you want to leave and whether you might change your mind in the future.



How to leave - the quick and dirty version



There are 3 ways to leave:

1. Delete your Connect account
1. Exit the Local Guides Program
1. Delete your Google account


I recommend you select method B since it has the least negative consequences and it can be undone. For instructions please see table B. Exit the Local Guides Program below.

BACKGROUND

To join Connect we all followed these 4 steps:

  1. We created a Google account.
  2. We started using Google Maps with our Google account.
  3. We signed up to become a Local Guide.
  4. We created a Connect account.

So your Maps contributions, your membership of the Local Guides Program, and your Connect account are all linked to your Google account. And most of us use the same Google account for other services like Gmail, Google Photos, Documents, YouTube, etc. Keep this in mind.

Before proceeding it is also relevant to be aware that there are two sets of badges. Your Local Guides Level and your Google Maps badges (examples: Master Reviewer, Photographer, Trailblazer, and Factfinder) are all linked to your Google Maps contributions. And your Connect badges (Great Friend, Writer, Solutionist, Popular, etc) are all linked to your Connect contributions.

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO ACHIEVE?

The following table explains how your local guide possibilities are linked to your accounts.

You can use this table to see what possibilities you will give up by deleting your Connect account and exiting the Local Guides Program.

For a more systematic approach, you can put a checkmark (:heavy_check_mark:) in the Keep-column for those possibilities you want to keep. And then compare your :heavy_check_mark: with the green :heavy_check_mark: in the other columns to find the Account type that is best for you.

Working with this table will give you an indication of how best to leave. But we are not done yet!

UNDERSTAND THE CONSEQUENCES

In the three tables below I have listed what else you need to know, consider, or do before leaving either by A. Deleting your Connect account, B. Exiting the Local Guides Program, or C. Deleting your Google account. And you can find important info on reversibility, alternatives, and the links needed to leave.

A. Delete your Connect account



Consequences



You can no longer:



- Ask questions and add/edit content on Connect.



- Earn Connect badges and vote for ideas.



- Apply to participate in Connect Live events if level 5+.




Also, your username will be changed to Anonymous with no link to your profile. And the content of your Connect posts will remain visible, but it will not be possible to attribute them to you.



Reversibility



Deleting your Connect account can not be undone.




After 10 days you will be able to create a new account on Connect using the same Google Account. But you will have lost your old username, Connect badges and you will be unable to edit your old posts and access your old Private Messages.



Alternatives



Stop visiting LocalGuidesConnect.com and turn off all email notifications here. This will allow you to change your mind later.




Or consider B. Leaving the Local Guides Program instead which can also be reversed should you change your mind.



Backup



You can download all your contributions in Connect before deleting your account. Find the links needed at the bottom of this page.



How to leave



Go to My Connect settings and select ā€œClose Accountā€.

B. Exit the Local Guides Program



Consequences



Same as under A. Plus you can no longer:



- Earn points, badges, and levels on Google Maps.







Your username and avatar in Connect will remain unchanged. But your Google Maps profile will no longer show that you are a Local Guide.




You can still use Google Maps as a normal Maps users. This includes making reviews, adding photos, etc on Google Maps.



Reversibility



Local Guides who have exited the program can re-enter using the same Google Account and will find their LG level and Google Maps badges intact.




If you did not delete your Connect account it will also be intact, and you will be able to contribute to Connect again if you rejoin the Local Guides program.



Alternatives



If privacy is your concern, a better solution could be to turn off your location tracking under Activity controls.



How to leave



Go to the new Opt-out-page and click/tap ā€œLeave the programā€.

C. Delete your Google account



Consequences



Same as under B. Plus you can no longer:



- Add reviews and photos to Google Maps.



- Suggest edits and provide feedback on Google Maps.



Your avatar in Connect will become grey and your Connect username will remain visible plus updated to your last Level in Google Maps, and linked to your posts.







BUT more importantly:



You can lose all your Google files, photos, and emails, etc. Please read this official help page to understand all the consequences.




All your reviews, star-only ratings, and photos will remain on Google Maps without mentioning your name. Should you want to delete them, this needs to be done before deleting your account. For every review, rating, and photo you need to hit the 3-dot-icon and select Delete. Unfortunately, there is no easier way to delete all these contributions.




You can not delete your edits, the new places you have added, and your answers on Google Maps. But you can remove answers linked to your timeline by setting auto-delete to ON in your Activity controls.



Reversibility



If you deleted a Google account recently you might be able to recover it as explained here.



Alternatives



Consider Exiting the Local Guides Program because it is reversible and you will not risk losing your Google files, photos, and emails or your access to other Google services.



Backup



Download the data you might need later as explained here.



How to leave



Go to your Google Account settings and scroll down to the heading Download, delete, or make a plan for your data.

With this information, you should be able to make an informed choice on how to leave us.

Remember, my intention was never to encourage you to leave but only to help you find the best way to do so.

I would like to thank @ErmesT for his generous help in checking and improving this post.

Cheers

MortenCopenhagen

PS: Before you leave us it would be helpful and appreciated if you would share your reasons for leaving.

PPS: There are a lot of details in this post, so please write comments to let me know if you find errors or room for improvements. I will be happy to revise this post.

PPPS: This post was updated on Jan 13th, 2021, to include the link to the new opt-out-page.

38 Likes

Thank you so much for your post, @MortenCopenhagen , as it is extremely clear and detailed.

What I can tell you in addition is that most of the people who wrote ā€œI want to delete all my contributions and exit from the programā€ still be a Local Guide.

Someone else left Connect three times, and joined back.

So most of the time it is a matter of motivation. If you really want to help to improve Google Maps, your motivation will be already high. If you contribute because you are expecting a reward (t-shirt, perks, money), well, your motivation is not real.

Thatā€™s why I usually explain what we have for free with our account, and I explain them how to close their Google account too

11 Likes

@MortenCopenhagen this is actually very informative and helpful for people who want to leave with informed choice. Thank you for sharing this with us. PS. I never consider to leave here but maybe reduce time I spent here, too addicted.

6 Likes

@ErmesT good observation! Some people even asked me what we get from here. To be honest, I have not received anything physically, but still very interested in sharing. Coming to tokens, I saw some people sharing what they got. I did not even know LGs can receive that!

7 Likes

Really itā€™s very detailed. @MortenCopenhagen

Great Efforts and Excellent post.

I know the time&energy you took for making this post,

Itā€™s really appreciable.

Thanks @ErmesT for making this more accurate.

3 Likes

@MortenCopenhagen

My dear friend

Very clear and accurate as usual thanks for your effort.

Best regards

3 Likes

Thanks, dear @MortenCopenhagen for this complete guide. Although, I really donā€™t know why someone may want to leave this amazing program. At least for me, this is a non-stop goal to help people by completing the Google Maps and cleaning it from spams and wrong data.

I also like the phrase ā€œshare your reasons for leavingā€. This will help us to improve ourselves that no one wants to leave us.

4 Likes

A nice and very informative initiative @MortenCopenhagen that those that should have this need will find very useful. I need to add, I totally agree with @ErmesT , if you contribute because you are expecting a reward (t-shirt, perks, money), well, your motivation is not real.

2 Likes

I earned most Local Guide points only by taking Street View photos. There are only a few reviews.
So Street View and Local Guides are inseparable in activities like me.

If the points earned from Street View shoots are invalidated, Iā€™ll probably drop to local guide level 2 or so.
On the contrary, if Street View points will be still valid, Street View and Local Guides should be inseparable. Then, it is clear that the consistency of the point system cannot be maintained.

The current situation is that many people have many different interpretations. The situation is very confusing.
And moreover, due to my lack of language skills, I have no idea what the current transitional measures mean.
For the time being, Iā€™ll just look at the course of action of many and make no explicit choices about the program.

If Iā€™m penalized for not making explicit program choices, itā€™s because of the limits of my ability and I have no choice but to accept it.

1 Like

WTF? I didnā€™t even understand what you are talking about.

What is a connect account? Do I use it?

I was able to use Google Maps, gmail, and other stuff before I signed up for Google guides, and I only signed up because I got free lifetime space on Google docs or something That was withdrawn. There is nothing mroe to be gained.

What am I missing?

1 Like

Thank you for this! I have 2 google accounts and only wanted one in the guide program. It was driving me nuts asking me twice for reviews and questions.

Como dejar de ser guide?

Hi @user_not_found ,

If you want to leave the program, you can visit the opt-out page. You can also take a look at this helpful article, to know more about it. Be also aware that I moved your comment there, in order to keep Connect more organized: How to leave us.

Thanks for the clear guide on how to leave the program.
After being a Local Guide with 435 reviews, 790 photos, 49 places added, 149 facts checked and 8,397,123 photo views, Google has decided to end the ā€˜G Suite legacy free editionā€™ which was promised to be free forever.
Since I will not be able to use my associated account email address (without paying) and since I donā€™t want the contributions to be orphaned (and never able to be edited or updated in the future) I have no choice but to take the option to leave the program and delete everything Iā€™ve done.
I also see no point in allowing Google to profit from my contributions when they are removing all benefits they previously provided and now making it a charged service.

1 Like

Thank you @MortenCopenhagen for this post on ''how to leave the Local Guide program." After constant tweaking, deleting and more, I just found it frustrating to get a simple review posted. I have reviews with over 200 characters and 5 likes, but they canā€™t be seen by friends and I wasnā€™t receiving credit for it.

I appreciate the help but I rather spend time working with a different navigation app, which allows the community to really work together and build.

Keep striving!

-The Driver Sensei

Thanks @MortenCopenhagen for this and other detailed guides.

I discovered a few days ago that numerous reviews I had written for the last couple months werenā€™t actually showing up.

It is taking me too long to try and understand what is going on, attempt fixing it, and most of it so far fruitless.

I accepted Googleā€™s invite to be a Local Guide because I initially thought it was a label that they gave to people who wrote reviews and were considered knowledgeable which seemed cool. I donā€™t have time to do the in person things.

I am wondering if I choose option B and leave the program, if my reviews which are private will start to show up because the requirements for regular people who are not local guides leaving a review are not as stringent?

Hi @BobJSmith

Leaving reviews on Google Maps is something all Maps users can do.

If you leave the Local Guides program using method B your reviews will remain on Google Maps. And your Local Guides badge will remain on your Maps profile. It is just your privilege to write on Connect that will be removed.

Should Google successfully get the hidden reviews problem ironed out your reviews should reappear publicly with no action needed on your part. Should you later want to use the form to request a manual check, then I believe you will need to sign up again.

Best of luck

Morten

Hello,

@Sophia_Cambodia

I try to delete this connect account. I think thereā€™s no need to be active this account. But didnā€™t find any delete option in settings. What should I do?

@1488goglesucks , @ZK23

As mentioned in the original post

Just click :arrow_right: here :arrow_left: then click on ā€œclose accountā€

:arrow_down: :arrow_down: :arrow_down: :arrow_down: :arrow_down: :arrow_down: :arrow_down: :arrow_down: :arrow_down: :arrow_down:

ErmesT_1-1719940287261.png

Goodbye