Source: Search Engine Roundtable by barry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz). Read the original article
TL;DR Summary of Google Fixes Two-Month Review Disappearance Bug on Business Profiles
In October 2025, many businesses experienced a widespread issue where Google Business Profile reviews disappeared. After extensive complaints, Google has now confirmed a fix for this bug as of December 17, 2025. While most missing reviews have been restored to normal levels, some businesses may still be affected due to unrelated issues. Overall, this resolution brings relief to businesses impacted by the review disappearance problem.
Optimixed’s Overview: Resolving the Google Business Profile Review Disappearance Issue
Background of the Review Disappearance Bug
Starting in October 2025, a significant number of businesses noticed a sudden and unexplained drop in the number of reviews on their Google Business Profiles. This issue was not universal but sufficiently widespread to cause concern throughout the community.
Community Reactions and Reporting
- Many business owners and users took to the Google Business Profiles Forums to report and discuss the missing reviews.
- Complaints were consolidated into a single thread, highlighting the scale and consistency of the problem.
- Google Business Profile Product Experts, including Joy Hawkins, publicly acknowledged the issue and monitored its progress.
Official Resolution and Impact
On December 17, 2025, Google confirmed that the bug causing the review disappearances had been fixed. Following this announcement:
- Businesses that had lost a significant number of reviews began seeing their counts return to previous levels.
- Although most reviews were restored, some profiles did not recover all missing reviews, suggesting other factors may be involved.
- The fix marks the end of a two-month-long disruption for many businesses relying on their Google reviews for reputation and customer trust.
