I accidentally glanced at the biography of a Local Guide who left his personal phone number. I wonder if this action violates the platform’s rules?
15 Likes
This person appears to be a spammer, possibly engaged in review buying and selling, which is a serious violation of Google Maps policies. Such practices are completely illegal and harm the integrity of genuine reviews. Google Maps is meant to provide authentic, unbiased information to help users make informed decisions. Engaging in fake reviews can lead to account suspension or removal of contributions. It’s essential to maintain the platform’s credibility by reporting suspicious activity.
5 Likes
Hi @Guardiangel
Sharing your phone number in your bio is not necessarily a violation of the policies, as it’s not mentioned here View & edit your Google Maps profile - Android - Google Maps Help
It’s more a matter of privacy, that’s why Google Maps is informing us that “Your name, photo, and bio will always be found on your profile.”
So I wonder where this information is coming from, @ShifaAymal ?
However, what @Mehedi_LGC said is correct, because this person is inviting others to contact him for writing reviews, and this is prohibited.
You should report this person using the report function in Google Maps by following the steps explained here: You can now report entire profiles for abuse on Google Maps
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Hi @ErmesT
I think my choice of words is wrong i wanted to say that it’s not advisable and a right thing to do. My bad, should i delete the comment?
1 Like
No, @ShifaAymal , don’t worry about that.
What you said is perfect for Connect, where we’re invited not to share personal data.
And in Maps it is prohibited to share that kind of information in our reviews. Regarding the profile in Maps, we are just invited to be careful, because the our bio is publicly visible.
I had a long discussion years ago with a Local Guide who was complaining about receiving a lot of calls from unwanted people, just because he shared his phone number publicly, and I think we should mind more about our privacy.
It seems a lot of people don’t care about that till it’s too late
3 Likes
Yes, @ErmesT ,I’m aware of this and was referring to this as well.
You’re right, Although google hasn’t prohibited it, I personally think sharing personal data publicly is not right and can land people in trouble. So, i don’t encourage it.
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It’s really frustrating to see fake reviews flooding platforms like Google Maps. A while back, I noticed someone posting reviews on multiple businesses, but their number looked suspicious. I found out that they were using a temporary phone number, which is pretty common for people trying to stay anonymous or set up fake profiles.
And in the case of leaving a link pointing to another place, for example Facebook or a website, email
is it allowed or not?
Hi @Guardiangel
All these accounts are in some way spamming on maps.
Can you kindly DM me the link?
I will escalate all of them because one account is apparent selling reviews, one is prompting his business and the last one is promoting a group
Prompting Group, Email in bio, Promoting business
I reported the entire account, but after 48 hours of monitoring, I did not find any changes in their account. I chose option : Another policy violation. The problem with Report Entire Account is that I don’t get reported results from Google, unlike when you report a review. I will receive a unique automated email thanking you for flagging content violations. Again, I still want to confirm because we are not allowed to enter the following information in the bio section: - Phone number - Email - Website - Other types of links
Thank you