Hi!
I submitted an appeal and received a response saying that there are no penalties on my account. However, my reviews are still not visible to the public.
I can see them in my profile, some even have owner replies, but no one else can view them. Could it still be a shadowban or technical visibility issue?
I would really appreciate if a Product Expert could take another look or escalate the case further.
Thank you!
Hello @Mary_Lamar welcome to the Local Guides Connect community.
When did you submit the appeal? It can take several weeks. But very likely, you submitted the worn appeal. There is one to verify your profile and another one for Account investigation for contributions not visible on Google Maps..
Possibly, they became hidden after the owner responded. @MortenCopenhagen do you have any other explanations?
In order to get help from other Local Guides you should remove the restricted state from your Maps profile and it would be helpful, if you share links to the place listing, your reviews and a screenshot of the review(s) being hidden.
Another explanation could be that some violation caused the spam filter to remove all or a batch of reviews. This could explain why some have replies and views. Keep in mind the violation need not be review-related.
Thank you again for your response!
I submitted the appeal via the official Local Guides form on May 24 and received a reply on May 27 stating that no violations or penalties were found on my account.
I’m attaching the screenshot of that response here.
This makes me think that it might not be an account-level restriction, but rather an issue with review visibility (as we’re discussing).
Here is the link to my profile with the list of places and reviews:
https://www.google.com/maps/contrib/109496087477136135335/reviews
I will also upload a few screenshots of hidden reviews that even have owner replies — just in case that helps.
Thank you again for your help and support!
Thank you so much for the clarification, Morten!
I understand the spam filter might have been triggered — that actually makes sense.
I just want to emphasize that all of my reviews were based on real visits while traveling. I truly value the integrity of the Local Guides program and always aim to contribute genuinely.
If there’s any chance to restore visibility — even partially — I would be very grateful.
Please let me know if I should submit anything else, or if the case could be reviewed further by the internal team.
Thanks again for your time and support!
Please make your Maps profile unrestricted as suggested by @WilfriedB
You used the wrong appeals form. Here is the correct one for hidden contributions.
I’ve successfully submitted the correct appeal form (for hidden content). Thank you again! If the team needs more context — I’d be happy to provide details.
