So for me it was funny to follow some people to check what they have posted in the moment. Especially the top local guides. So, I was suprised, but no issue, as long Google will not cancel the view counts 
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But Iām sure we will get fewer likes and reactions on our contributions.
If this is due to the fact to support a follower, than it is fine, that it will go.
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The follow feature is useful in the case of the reviews posted by the guides I follow are shown at the top of the review section of any place, so if I follow only the local guides whom I know and trust, these reviews at the top become the most trusted reviews as well. But unfortunately, the follow feature is highly misused, so I donāt mind seeing it go.
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My curious mind always want the answer of it and I always tried to hide this so that no one can follow me. Finally they also notice such useless thing. Itās actually of no use.
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@MortenCopenhagen my friend.
Iām honestly pretty conflicted about this whole follower feature being removed.
Iāve actually spent countless hours managing my followers and building up my own following, trying to figure out how it could enhance my Local Guide activities.
My profile currently shows over 18k followers, and Iāve put real effort into cleaning house - removing the obvious bot accounts with no contributions who were following thousands of people.
But hereās the thing - I suspect many of my followers are genuine.
I do get engagement on my content (many are friends and family), and while Iām not sure if itās proportionate to my follower count, thereās definitely some level of interaction happening.
I know for a fact that friends and family members follow me, and I regularly get comments from people saying they saw my recent posts from vacation spots or restaurants Iāve visited. So clearly, people are actually paying attention to what Iām doing on Maps.
I absolutely agree that the feature hasnāt evolved one bit in recent years, which is incredibly frustrating.
This isnāt rocket science - creating ways for followers to actually engage with each other should have been relatively straightforward.
Google has thousands of developers who could have made this into a proper social feature without breaking a sweat, but it never happened. What we got was this bare-bones, poorly executed function that barely serves any purpose.
And donāt get me started on the technical issues. Trying to manage followers on mobile was a nightmare - the interface would lag horribly after just two pages. Whatever code they threw together felt completely half-hearted and poorly optimized.
Did I enjoy having a large following? Absolutely.
Sure, you could game the system by following thousands of people, hoping for follow-backs, then unfollowing them and repeating the cycle.
Iām sure plenty of people inflated their numbers that way, but thatās not really fun or meaningful.
I tried to focus on following quality contributors - mostly Level 8, 9, and 10 guides. I follow about 3k people, and when I have spare time, I actually do browse through their profiles, read their reviews, and check out their recent activities.
With better filtering tools - showing how many followers are local, which ones are friends, etc. - this could have been genuinely useful.
The basic concept isnāt complicated, but like so many Google features, they started building something and then abandoned it halfway through without ever properly developing it. Itās such a waste of potential.
So while I understand why most people wonāt miss this feature, I canāt say Iām entirely happy to see it go.
It had real potential that was just never realized.
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I clearly see your point. Two comments:
I deliberately keep the number of people I follow just below 100 as this is what I can relate to. Mostly people I know in real life. Then seeing one of their reviews at the top meant a lot to me. So following 4000 is difficult to comprehend.
I am quite sure that the lack of improvements is due to Googleās fear of compromising our privacy. A few LGs have experienced how disappointed business owners reach out to them in very unpleasant ways. This problem would probably get out of control if business owners could more easily reach out to Maps users. I guess all the lawyers at Google would predict a ton of legal cases coming their way.
Querida comunidad de Google Maps:
Me adelanto a septiembre para poder despedirme con calma de los mƔs de 20.000 seguidores que me habƩis acompaƱado en esta aventura en Google Maps.
Como ya sabrĆ©is, la funciĆ³n de seguidores desaparecerĆ” en septiembre de 2025, y aunque aĆŗn queda algo de tiempo, prefiero hacerlo ahora, con tranquilidad y gratitud.
Ha sido un autĆ©ntico privilegio compartir lugares, descubrimientos y experiencias con vosotros. Cada comentario, cada āme gustaā, cada visualizaciĆ³n ha sido un impulso para seguir aportando.
No sabemos todavĆa si los cambios que vienen nos favorecerĆ”n o no, pero confĆo en que el espĆritu de comunidad seguirĆ” presente, de una forma u otra.
Gracias por estar ahĆ. Nos seguiremos cruzando en el mapa.
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Hi @HUMBERTO_V
Saying goodbye can be hard. I understand you dissapointment.
We are already discussing the Follow features faith in this topic:
https://www.localguidesconnect.com/t/the-follow-feature-on-maps-is-going-away/483966/47
So I will merge your important input there to keep Connect organized.
Cheers
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Gracias! Siempre nos quedarĆ” seguirnos en Local Guides Connect! 
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Right , its not important or not usuable feature 
.
Thanks for update @MortenCopenhagen
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@MortenCopenhagen I had almost 4.5k followers and following none. Since I find following is not much useful and my followers are mostly for business promotion or spammers or no post and hence seemed to be no sense. Let us have limited features and appreciate such efforts !
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And you can bookmark your friends Maps profiles on desktop. Maybe we should advertised this alternative more widely.
What do you think?
Bom dia @MortenCopenhagen ! Bom falar com vocĆŖ novamente. Espero que esteja bem, e venha ao Brasil, quando for oportuno. Sobre desativar os seguidores e seguir, vejo uma medida necessĆ”ria, saliento um fenĆ“meno no Brasil em diversos seguimentos: as postagens tem sido usadas para discursos desconexos, rede social principalmente em Shoppings Centers de cidades do interior. Otima iniciativa!
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Can you explain this engagement @abermans? I know its too late now, but Iāve been trying for a long time to find out what I should expect to gain by having followers, or by me following others.
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Engagement is likes, hearts and other reactions on your photos and reviews. If your friends look in their follow feeds they will see your contributions and they can easily react to them.
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Thanks @MortenCopenhagen
So if the follow feature goes away, we might not get any likes or hearts anymore. 
So sad 
Iāve seen an increase in those in recent months, but I wonāt be upset if they disappear.
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I donāt think, this true @tony_b and @MortenCopenhagen. My understanding is, everybody reading our reviews or opening the media can click like or the heart. Without the followers, it just may (or may not?) getting less likely or am I wrong?
Anyway, it wonāt disturb me neither.
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I agree. Less but not none.
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Iām really curious, if we might realize a change in September, but I never really tracked the number of likes and hearts @tony_b and @MortenCopenhagen. Never came to my mind, somebody clicked like for my review just because he or she follows me. Whenever I liked a review, it was always because I appreciated what was written there.
I am also wondering, how many people just click āfollowā, but never really do anything else ā¦?
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