- Google has announced three new measures to combat fraudulent activities on “Google Maps,” such as malicious reviews and inappropriate edits (suggested information corrections) to business listings.
- These measures include system upgrades to prevent fraud, the use of “Gemini” for automated detection of inappropriate edits, and monitoring features for inaccurate suggestions regarding location information.
- Last year, in 2025, Google blocked or removed over 292 million policy-violating contributions using advanced systems and expert analysts, while simultaneously publishing over 1 billion helpful reviews.
On Thursday, April 16, 2026, Google announced three new measures to address fraudulent activities on its “Google Maps” service, such as malicious reviews and inappropriate edits (suggested information corrections) to business listings.
The three measures introduced are: system upgrades to prevent fraudulent activities, the utilization of “Gemini” for the automated detection of inappropriate edits, and monitoring features for inaccurate location information suggestions. It is reported that last year, in 2025, Google blocked or removed more than 292 million policy-violating contributions through advanced systems and expert analysts, while publishing over 1 billion helpful reviews.
Furthermore, to maintain the accuracy of “Google Business Profiles,” 79 million inappropriate or unverified edits were blocked. Additionally, Google restricted posts from over 782,000 accounts that violated its policies and removed more than 13 million fake “Google Business Profiles.”
System Upgrades to Prevent Fraudulent Activities
The system upgrades designed to prevent fraud now allow for faster detection and prevention of scams, such as one-star spam reviews aimed at extorting businesses for removal.
This enables more accurate detection of fraud patterns, allowing suspicious posts to be blocked before they are ever published. Essentially, the system upgrade prevents the initial spam reviews from being posted in the first place.
In the event of a sudden spike in spam reviews that bypass the system, Google will proactively remove the spam, temporarily pause new reviews, notify the “Google Business Profile” owner, and publicly disclose the reason for the temporary suspension.
These fraud-prevention system upgrades are scheduled to roll out globally over the coming weeks.
Automated Detection of Inappropriate Edits Using “Gemini”
To maintain the accuracy of place information, Google has integrated its AI, “Gemini,” into “Google Maps” to enable rapid detection of inappropriate edits (suggested information corrections).
When an inappropriate information correction suggestion that violates Google’s policies is submitted, the advanced reasoning capabilities of “Gemini” can quickly detect and block it before it goes live. This “Gemini”-powered detection and blocking feature is now rolling out across web, Android, and iOS versions of “Google Maps” worldwide.
Monitoring Features for Inaccurate Location Information Suggestions
Owners of “Google Business Profiles” can now review suggested information corrections from users before they are published.
This allows business owners to delete or block inappropriate correction suggestions themselves before they are ever visible to the public.
Source：Google
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