Does Google remove real reviews (review gating question)?

Hoping those knowledgeable in ORM can advise.

Long story short I'm hoping to help local businesses near me get real reviews (the old school formula of automating text message to their customers after a visit, direct them to landing page where if they select 4+ stars they redirect to Google and if lower, to a private landing page to the bad reviews get filtered out) but I'm concerned about 'review gating'.

If I do this would Google just remove all the reviews or even band the local Google business page/listing?

Let's assume I'm working with a business that barely gets reviews. What's the threshold where I can stay under the radar, like how many reviews a week/month?

I think you're risking having your reviews removed or even penalties applied to your customer profile. The safest long-term strategy is always to openly ask customers for reviews, without redirecting them based on their rating. That's probably why negative review removal services are so expensive; they must have some other method.

Review gating is against Google guidelines. It can lead to reviews being removed or, in worse cases, penalties on the business profile. There’s no safe threshold of reviews per week/month the issue is the filtering behavior itself, not volume.

Review gating can be risky. Google Business Profile guidelines generally discourage filtering customers based on rating before sending them to review. Safer approach is to ask all customers for feedback and let them choose where to leave it. Also keeping review growth natural and steady usually avoid issues.

Review gating is risky, Google does not allow filtering reviews based on rating, and it can lead to removals if flagged. Safer approach is to ask all customers for honest feedback and let them choose where to leave it. Slow, steady real reviews usually works better long term.

Review gating is risky now. Google Business Profile guidelines do not allow filtering reviews based on rating and it can lead to removals or even profile issues. Safer approach is to ask all customers for honest feedback and keep it natural. Slow and steady review growth usually looks more trustworthy anyway.