Retain points when a place is removed from Google Maps

Google Maps tips & tricks
1

I am sure we have all experienced this. You spend time and effort collating your thoughts, taking and uploading photos, uploading them all to a listing on Google Maps only for them to all be removed without a trace if/when the location is removed from Maps.

Not only do you lose your content without warning, but you also lose points. This is clear from platforms like LGR which show photo counts and in some case points reducing.

Suggestion: When a business or location is removed from Google Maps, the content you provided should remain in a private state so you can still view it. In doing so, you also retain the points you earned.

2

I don’t think you are 100% correct on this.

If a place is removed completely you are correct, but permanently closed businesses should be marked as permanently closed and not as Never existed here. Then we get to keep our photos and reviews and the points associated with with those contributions.

3

Yes, my post is specifically with regard to a place being removed completely from Google Maps.

I think the way places are handled when permanently closed is ideal. You can still see it on Maps, you can see your own photos, reviews, etc but the user still has that feedback that it is no longer operating.

Perhaps it is as simple as preventing a place from being removed completely - and you can only have permanently closed. Either that or as above, we just have a private local copy and points are retained.

4

That would make it impossible for us to remove spam.

5

Perhaps the option to ‘remove’ is still available but it is subject to moderation. X no of users have to approve the removal. I think it is quite worrying how easy it is to actually remove established profiles currently.

6

Trust me, every edit is subject to moderation.

Another helpful measure is for the business owners to verify their ownership. This makes it much harder remove the pin.

Considering the amount of spam and fake pins on Map, I doubt Google will want to make it harder to remove spam.

But is is certainly worth discussing.

7

Hi @Ian_Fry
Generally speaking I could agree with you, but @MortenCopenhagen is right, there are thousands and thousands of fakes location in Google Maps. When we remove them (I did thousands of times) I believe also the points should be removed.
However I agree that it’s too easy also to remove legitimate places.
Years ago I wrote an idea (not migrated in the new Connect) about crowd sourcing a feedback from the users who contributed in the place, excluding of course the one who created the place. In this way it will be easier to prevent wrong removal for places than are simply “permanently closed”, by keeping on the same time the integrity of Google Maps