Reviews not going public

[Denis.D]

Hi,

I have been writing reviews on Google Maps since quite a few years and off late, I have been facing issues with some of my reviews (two of them mentioned below) not getting published publicly.

All of my reviews are genuine i.e. they are of places I have visited, they describe my personal experience of the place, and the photos and videos are the ones captured by me.

I have gone through the review guidelines and I believe the reviews do not violate them. Of course, I have no way to be certain about this as Google does not explain which review/picture/video is the culprit. Neither do I get even a vague message that the review violates guidelines and will not be published publicly. It’s up to me to keep checking every time using incognito mode. And when a review is not shown, I have no definite path to resolve the apparent issue. I have tried rewording the review and removing the photos one by one to isolate the issue, but to no avail.

Also, I read somewhere that if Location History is turned on, there is more chance of the review getting published. Is this a factor the AI considers while scanning the reviews?

It is really frustrating to spend a lot of time writing the reviews only to find they are not public. I rely a lot on Google Maps reviews myself while looking at a place to visit, so I want to ensure I share my own experiences with the larger Google Maps community in return. But this recent issue has been proving a spoilsport to that end.

Can someone help me out to know why some review are not getting public?

I hope I am able to find a solution to this issue soon.

Thanks,
Denis

• White Lotus review
• Aagumbe Sunset viewpoint

[waza28]

Take a look at the following discussion.

It is a known issue. @DenisD24

https://www.localguidesconnect.com/t5/Highlights/An-update-on-how-we-moderate-Google-Maps-reviews/ba-p/3558439/page/13#comments

[Denis.D]

Thanks for the response. I know this is very late, but I’ve been facing issues once again. Several of my reviews are not getting published. It’s the same issue all over again. The reviews are written by me and are genuine i.e. of places I’ve visited myself.

I have also added my issue on this investigation form.

Is there any expert who can help out?

Regards,
Denis Dsouza

[Denis.D]

What I observed today is, if I remove the photos from the review, the review gets published. But if I add even a single image, the review gets unpublished. The images are clicked by me, and are of the place I am reviewing.

I am losing guide points due to this recurring issue.

Asking for some help on this.
@MortenCopenhagen

[MortenCopenhagen]

Hi @Denis.D

Did you try removing the first photo that triggered the spam filter and then adding the next one to find out if it is only one of your images or all that get rejected?

Your systematic testing is the best way to figure out what is going on.

Feel free to share the place link and the photos getting rejected in a reply below.

Sometimes there are blocks on places or you could have missed some guideline.

[Denis.D]

Thanks for responding, Morten.

Yes, I did. I added only one photo each time and saved. Everytime the result was the same. As long as any photo was added, the review got unpublished.

I have tried this last year too for a different review. It’s really frustrating, because when I visit places, I make it a point to click photos only meant for a Maps review.

Here is the review in question:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/kfX2iQfqEV4hq57bA

And attached are the images

Right now, I have removed all the images and the review is published.

Thanks for helping out.

-Denis

[MortenCopenhagen]

I don’t see problems in your photos.

It looks like the photos were transferred via WhatsApp. This can be an issue, as such images get compressed. Can you test using one of the images in high res?

Further, I made the following test.
First I downloaded a copy of your wide photo and created a test review. This went public immediately.

This suggests it is something related to your account and not the photos themselves.

I already deleted my test review.

I noticed that the latest reviews have no photos. So maybe there is a more general issue. Also, some of the recent reviews smell fake, so there might be some investigation going on, and the owners might try to solicit fake positive review. But when my review went public with your photo, I think your account and history are likely the most likely cause.

[Denis.D]

I added the high-res version of the same photo you used for your test. The photo got uploaded, but the review got unpublished (when I checked from Incognito mode). When I clicked the photo’s thumbnail(img 1), some other photo(img 2) got loaded.

What could be the issue with my account and history? And why only those reviews without photos get published, if it is so?

[MortenCopenhagen]

This is not easy to answer.

First, with thousands of Maps servers, we can not conclude if a review or photo is published or not within minutes. It can take hours before all the servers are aware of a new review (synchronize delays).

Hang on.. I’m back.

You have made 140 reviews but only 107 are currently public. This indicates that the spam filter is generally not loving your reviews. There are a ton of posts suggesting how to improve reviews.

Also, 30 of your 296 photos are taken down. Again, you will need to study the guidelines and fix issues like duplicates and redundant/similar photos.

[Denis.D]

Thanks for the inputs, @MortenCopenhagen .

All of my reviews are typed by me. In the past, to save time, I used to type them in Notepad or Word first, and then just paste in the review field. I am assuming the filters picked up on this behaviour. So, since then I make it a point to type the entire review directly in the review field.

I usually write detailed reviews as much as I can to help the Maps community. Is this something the filters prevent? Asking so I can consider writing shorter review (weird because Maps incentivises longer reviews)

Also, the past reviews which are non-public, is there any way for anyone to check which exact filter(s) was tripped?
I have gone through the review guidelines in the past too, and they are generic in nature, expectedly so. I believe I have not broken any guideline i.e. fake engagement, misinformation, misinterpretation, harassment, hate speech, or others listed here

So, instead of guessing what the filters might interpret my review as a violation, it would be nice to know which filter got tripped. It will help me avoid this in the future.

And about the photos. Well are there separate, specific guidelines for photos? And yes, some of them look similar e.g. photos of palm trees, or of a resort from different angles, but they are different photos.

—edit added–

If it helps, I have also submitted my profile for review here.
The first time was about a year ago, and the next was a couple of days back. I am not sure what is the action I can expect after submission.

[MortenCopenhagen]

Hi again @Denis.D

I have never seen Google reveal details on why the spam filter got triggered. The main reason is probably to not help the fake reviewers in any way. So it is not likely that your request will be granted. But I think your request is reasonable and it would eliminate a lot of frustration many LGs experience.

Unfortunately, I have seen cases where reviews have been hidden for violations unrelated to reviews. So taken down reviews can probably be seen as an early warning. This can in practice make it impossible to figure out what triggered the filter.

The review guidelines are also elaborate and many violations are unintended.

We have an option to request a manual check of our contributions. Please use this form:

Account investigation for contributions not visible on Google Maps

I will respond to your questions about the photo guidelines in a separate reply.

[MortenCopenhagen]

Whether you type your reviews directly in Google Maps or another text editor first is not important as this can not be detected by the servers, and such a restriction could reduce the quality of reviews (better spell check and better tools to perfect your writing in other apps.

[MortenCopenhagen]

Regarding photos. I noticed :

The guidelines are not only requiring us not to not upload duplicates. Also, similar photos are not allowed.

For a detailed explanation of the photo guidelines please see
https://www.localguidesconnect.com/t/storefront-photography-series-index/387319

Tips for posting media to Maps - Maps User Generated Content Policy Help is also a good read.

And I noticed you already found my suspension tutorial. The post on Typical photo guideline violations is also worth going over.

Best of luck

[Denis.D]

@MortenCopenhagen

I have never seen Google reveal details on why the spam filter got triggered. The main reason is probably to not help the fake reviewers in any way.

Yes, it makes sense not to reveal the ‘why’ of the violation, so the fakers don’t get busy with a workaround. But I do believe the ‘what’ of the violation is something that can be useful.

[Denis.D]

@MortenCopenhagen

We have an option to request a manual check of our contributions. Please use this form:

I have submitted this form only a couple of days ago. So, I guess I’ll wait?

[MortenCopenhagen]

Actually, there is one hint we get when using the other appeals form (the one meant for suspended LGs). It will give us a hint on whether it is our photos, reviews, or edits that are the problem. Few LGs will catch this in the standard replies. But it is surely very helpful.

[Denis.D]

@MortenCopenhagen

And I noticed you already found my suspension tutorial. The post on Typical photo guideline violations is also worth going over.

Yes, I did. Your mini-series is very helpful. I have already started cleaning up the photos which could reasonably be picked up by the filters.

Hopefully, the reviews should go public once the images are removed. Is this reasonable to expect?

[Denis.D]

@MortenCopenhagen

Actually, there is one hint we get when using the other appeals form (the one meant for suspended LGs). It will give us a hint on whether it is our photos, reviews, or edits that are the problem. Few LGs will catch this in the standard replies. But it is surely very helpful.

But, should I be submitting the appeals form when it is not applicable for me?

[MortenCopenhagen]

As I recall the suspension form can also be used if all your photos or reviews were taken down. This is not the applicable in your case. Let’s wait for the hidden form first would be my suggestion.

[Denis.D]

The last time I used the form, it was a year ago, and there was no change in the hidden reviews. How much time do you think I need to wait to check back whether my hidden reviews are unhidden?

Also, for the latest review of the place Leela Cottages, I used only a single image which didn’t break any rules: no faces, kids, car number plates, low light, neither duplicates; is high-res and no copyright. Then why won’t it get accepted?

Or do past violations also hide current photos, even if they don’t violate any guideline?