Google has acknowledged that reviews are going missing after suspended Google Business Profiles are reinstated. Local SEO professional Amy Toman reported on LinkedIn on August 24, 2026, that Google is aware of the problem and actively working on a resolution, though no timeline for a fix has been announced.
What is happening
Business owners and local SEO practitioners who recently had a suspended Google Business Profile reinstated are finding that their profiles are live again but their reviews have disappeared. The reviews are not visible on the public listing despite the profile itself being fully restored.
Toman, who identified the issue in a public LinkedIn post, stated that Google has confirmed this is an acknowledged problem with a fix in progress. She advised affected businesses to reply directly to their support ticket emails to notify Google Support that reviews are missing, keeping the issue documented and attached to their original case.
Who is affected
The issue appears to be specific to businesses that went through a suspension and subsequent reinstatement process. Profiles that were suspended and then restored to active status are showing as live but without their accumulated reviews. This affects businesses that rely on reviews for local search visibility and customer trust.
The problem is distinct from other review-related issues. Barry Schwartz noted that this does not appear to be related to the broader "reviews go missing" topic that was discussed in July 2026, though he expressed uncertainty about whether the two issues are connected.
What Google has said
According to Toman's report, Google's position includes four key points:
- The problem is acknowledged and known to Google
- A fix is actively in progress
- No official timeline for resolution has been announced
- Businesses should document the issue through their existing support tickets
Google has not published an official status update or help center article about this specific issue as of August 25, 2026.
Context
Google Business Profile reviews are a critical factor in local search rankings and business visibility. When reviews disappear after reinstatement, businesses lose both the social proof that influences customer decisions and the review signals that contribute to local pack rankings. The suspension and reinstatement process itself can be lengthy, and the additional loss of reviews compounds the impact on businesses that were already dealing with reduced visibility during the suspension period.
Review loss after profile changes has been a recurring issue in the Google Business Profile ecosystem. Previous instances have involved reviews disappearing after profile verification changes, business name updates, or category modifications. Google typically resolves these issues, but the timeline can vary from days to weeks.
What has not been confirmed
Several material questions remain unanswered:
- How many businesses are affected by this issue
- Whether the reviews are permanently deleted or temporarily hidden
- When Google expects to restore the missing reviews
- Whether businesses that were reinstated weeks or months ago are also affected, or only recent reinstatements
- Whether the issue affects all review types (customer reviews, owner responses, review replies) equally
Google has not provided a public status page entry or help center documentation for this specific issue.
Sources
- Amy Toman LinkedIn post — August 24, 2026
