A Google review names your employee: when it breaks Google's policy

Google's personal information policy prohibits “Content which contains personal information of another posted without their consent such as: full name, or last name, their face in a photograph or a video.” It then lists what is allowed: “An individual's name if it is part of the commonly known or advertised business entity”, and “An individual's name if they are a public-facing professional conducting business under their name”, giving doctors, lawyers, realtors, financial planners and contractors as examples. Executives whose names and role are publicly known are allowed too.

• A first name in a complaint about service, such as “Sam at the counter was slow.” A first name alone is not in the policy, and a real visit described harshly is allowed. Answer it in public.
• A full name or last name of a staff member who does not trade under their own name. This meets the personal information clause in the review's own words.
• Any name, first or full, joined to a threat, a slur, a sexual claim, or a home address. That is harassment, hate speech or personal information, whatever form the name takes.

When you report it, choose the reason that matches the clause: personal information for a full or last name, harassment for a threat or a sexual claim. Tell the employee the day you report it and again when the result arrives, so they are not left checking the listing themselves.

The personal information clause turns on consent, so the person named is part of the case. Tell them about the review before you report it, ask whether they agree to it being reported, and ask whether they feel safe. A short written note from them saying they did not agree to their name being posted is a useful record. If the review hints at where they live or when they finish work, change their schedule first and read the guide to threatening reviews.

• A dated screenshot of the review and the reviewer profile.
• Where the name already appears in public: your website, a name badge, a license board. A professional who works under their own name falls under Google’s allowance.
• Whether the writer was a customer at all. A name used by someone who never visited is a fake engagement case as well.
• Other reviews on your listing that name the same person.

Never repeat the employee’s name in your reply, and never add a shift time, a role detail or a defense of their private life. Each one makes the review easier to find and the person easier to identify. A reply such as “Thank you for telling us. We have spoken with our team and would like to hear more by phone” answers the complaint without naming anyone.

If the name in the review is your own, the page on reviews that mention your name covers owners specifically, and the case builder tool lists the records each situation needs.

The case sheet quotes the name exactly as posted, cites the clause it meets, and attaches the record behind it, such as the employee’s note. A review that breaks the clause in its own words sits in a simpler fee class than one where the proof has to be assembled. The class and fee are on the sheet before anything is filed, a fee is billed only after Google removes the review, and a declined case is filed a second time at the same fee.

The free audit reads every low review on your listing and marks the ones that name staff, with a clause and a fee class, or No rule broken.