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April 2026 Google Review Policy: What Changed, What to Stop Doing

Google tightened the rules on review-gating, incentivized reviews, and review-filtering at the device level. Practices that were borderline a year ago now risk profile suspension. Here's the audit you should run.

— BY Phil B.

Google tightened the rules on review-gating, incentivized reviews, and review-filtering at the device level. Practices that were borderline a year ago now risk profile suspension. Here’s the audit you should run.

What this post will cover

  • The specific April 2026 policy update language
  • Practices now flagged as suspension-risk (review-gating, incentives, device-level filtering)
  • What “compliant review request” looks like in 2026
  • How to audit your existing review-request flow
  • What to do if you’ve been suspended (path back, timeline, when to give up)
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