Changed your mind, or the business made things right? Learning how to edit Google reviews you wrote takes about thirty seconds. You can bump the star rating up or down, rewrite the text, swap the photos — all from the same menu, on phone or desktop. This guide walks through both, plus the one reason the Edit button sometimes goes missing.
Editing only applies to reviews you wrote. You cannot edit someone else's review, and a business cannot edit yours. If instead you want to remove your review entirely, see how to delete a Google review you wrote.
Edit a Google review on your phone
The Google Maps app is the quickest route, and where most reviews are posted to begin with.
- Open the Google Maps app and tap your profile picture in the top-right corner.
- Tap Your Profile, then Reviews (or "Contributions" then "Reviews" on older versions).
- Find the review and tap the three-dot menu beside it.
- Tap Edit review.
- Change the star rating, rewrite the text, add or remove photos, then tap Post.
Edit a Google review on desktop
- Go to google.com/maps and make sure you are signed in.
- Click the menu icon (three horizontal lines) at top-left, then Your contributions.
- Open the Reviews tab.
- Find the review, click its three-dot menu, and choose Edit review.
- Update the rating and text, then click Post to save.
Edits publish immediately. There is no approval step and no "previous version" shown — the moment you post, your update replaces the original for everyone. It usually appears within a few minutes and can take a bit longer to clear from cached views.
Editing vs. deleting — which should you do?
People often reach for delete when edit is the better move. If your opinion of a place has simply changed — up or down — editing keeps your review live and useful to other shoppers while reflecting the fuller picture. Deleting throws away that context entirely. As a rule of thumb: edit when the experience changed, and delete only when you posted about the wrong business, want the review gone completely, or no longer want to be associated with it at all. If deleting is what you are after, the steps live in how to delete a Google review you wrote, and the Delete option sits right beside Edit in the same three-dot menu.
Why might you edit a review?
A few common reasons:
- The business fixed the problem. A one-star can fairly become a four-star once an issue is resolved — and updating it is more useful to other shoppers than leaving stale criticism up.
- You made a mistake. Wrong star count, a typo, or details you got the wrong way round.
- New information. Maybe a great first visit turned into a pattern of bad ones, or vice versa, and your rating should reflect the fuller picture.
Why is there no Edit option?
If you open your review and there is no three-dot menu, or no Edit choice, the reason is almost always that you are signed into the wrong Google account. Many people have a personal Gmail and a separate work account, and Google only shows the Edit option to the exact account that posted the review. Sign out, sign back in with the right account, and check your Reviews list again.
A note for business owners
If a customer edits a review in your favour, that is worth encouraging — when you genuinely resolve a complaint, it is completely fair to invite the person to update their rating. What you cannot do is edit their words yourself; only the reviewer can. The reliable way to keep your overall rating strong is not chasing edits but consistently earning fresh reviews, which is also one of the top signals for ranking in the Google Map Pack. That review pipeline is a core part of our local SEO service for Toronto businesses.
Frequently asked questions
Can I edit a Google review I already posted?
Yes. Any review you wrote can be edited at any time. Open Google Maps or your contributions list, find the review, tap the three-dot menu, and choose Edit review. You can change the star rating, rewrite the text, and add or remove photos, then post the update.
Do Google review edits show up immediately?
Yes. When you save an edited review it replaces the original right away — there is no separate approval step. It usually appears within a few minutes and can take a little longer to clear from cached views. Google does not display the old version once you update it.
Why is there no Edit option on my Google review?
Almost always it means you are signed into a different Google account than the one that posted the review. Sign out, sign back in with the account you used originally, and the three-dot Edit option will appear. Only the account that wrote a review can edit it.
Can a business edit or change my review?
No. A business can reply to your review but cannot change your words or star rating. Only you can edit a review you wrote. A business can flag a review for removal if it breaks Google's policies, but that is a request to Google, not an edit.
Running a Toronto business and want more customers updating their reviews to five stars? Book a free 30-minute consultation and we'll show you how a review system fits into ranking higher on Google.