Google is emailing owners when it pauses new reviews after a spam spike
What changed
Owners began receiving an email titled "Protecting your Business Profile from spam reviews". It says Google detected and removed a spike in spam reviews and has temporarily paused new ratings, reviews and other contributions, typically for a few days. No action is required, but you can request a review if genuine reviews were removed.
What to do
- Don't panic. The pause usually lifts within a few days.
- Check the email came from Google by signing in at business.google.com directly, not through the email link.
- Avoid asking for lots of reviews at once. Ask every customer steadily instead.