Does Deleting a Google Account Delete Your Reviews?

When a Google account is deleted, it can impact the reviews posted on that account. Google reviews play a significant role in shaping the reputation of accounts and influencing the decisions of potential consumers. Understanding what happens to reviews after a Google account is deleted is helpful for businesses worried about losing positive reviews. It can also help companies seeking to manage or remove negative reviews.

Reviews From Deleted Accounts Remain Visible

When a Google account is deleted, the reviews submitted by that account do not automatically disappear. Google values the authenticity and reliability of reviews, so once a review is published, it remains visible to others. This allows users and business owners to continue benefiting from the feedback and insights from those engaged with their products or services. If businesses are concerned about positive reviews being deleted, or wondering how to remove negative reviews, knowing that deleted account reviews remain can be useful.

Reviewers Become Anonymous

When an account is deleted, public reviewers’ identities associated with the reviews are changed to anonymous. The review is no longer linked to personal information or a username, but it will remain. This protects the privacy of individuals who have chosen to delete their Google accounts while maintaining the integrity of the review system. To indicate that a review was posted by an anonymous or now-deleted account, they typically display a generic label stating they were posted by “A Google User.”

Deleted Account Reviews Can Still Be Managed

Even though the reviewer’s identity is no longer available, business owners can still respond to the reviews. Their Google My Business (GMB) account has tools for managing and responding to reviews. Responding to reviews is crucial to managing a business’s online reputation. Owners can address concerns, express gratitude, or provide updates through review responses. By regularly monitoring and responding to reviews, business owners can maintain good customer relations and demonstrate commitment to customer satisfaction. Other customers see and benefit from this, regardless of whether the original account is deleted or still active.

Google Attempts to Counter-Review Manipulation

Google constantly strives to maintain the integrity of its review system and protect consumers from fraudulent or manipulated reviews. This includes ongoing efforts to identify and remove fake or incentivized reviews. Deleting a Google account may raise some red flags, especially if multiple accounts associated with a business are deleted simultaneously. In such cases, Google may closely monitor the affected reviews for suspicious activity or manipulation attempts.

Find Alternatives To Remove Negative Reviews

In short, when a Google account is deleted, the reviews associated with that account remain visible to others, but the reviewer’s identity becomes anonymous. Business owners can still manage and respond to these reviews, though they become challenging to remove with the account deleted. Google’s measures to counter review manipulation may potentially be able to help. You can also receive help handling or removing negative reviews from the team at Reputation America. Contact us today to learn more about the impact of reviews and the process of review removal.