After years of snail-like progress, I finally did it! I won Google! I reached level 10 over the past day. Currently waiting on the limo and cash prize I'm sure will be coming.

Jokes aside, I'm very excited. Now I have some Master badges to mop up. :-)

I'm receiving emails from google that -older- reviews of mine could not be posted. I got about 5-6 of them on a two weeks time frame.

I looked it up and all of them are at the same area and seems like someone is deliberately deleting places I created and reviews I left for them. The places still exist and nothing changed at their status. Is there a way to track down who removed them, contact google or reestate the places without having to add each one again?

I know this question has nothing to do with the local guide thing, but I need to spill my frustration somewhere. In the Google timeline, you have all kinds of transports, like walking or driving a car. You can even swim or kajak. But really useful, often used, options like a motor scooter, electric scooter. or a moped are not on the list. I ride the motor scooter all the time and driving a motor is really not te same. Please Google, add those new means of transport to the time line.

I'm trying to become a Local Guide on Google, but I keep getting the message 'You are not eligible to become a Local Guide.' I meet all the requirements, so what could be the

Hey all! I was researching and came across this group,i see that some people have been helped,I own a business located at 3307 Clifton Ave in Cincinnati OH,recently the same as the others,google kicked me from the listing and removed my website,i have been trying to verify my listing and add my website back but with no luck as my business video cant be accepted,if any of you can suggest my website baladirestaurantbakery.com on my listing since its very crucial for my business,my business is called Baladi Restaurant and Bakery and here is the map listing,any help is greatly appreciated - https://www.google.com/maps?sca_esv=a07f0383584960a3&rlz=1C1GCEU_en&output=search&q=Baladi+Restaurant+%26+Bakery+3307+Clifton+Ave,+Cincinnati+OH,+45220&source=lnms&fbs=AEQNm0Aa4sjWe7Rqy32pFwRj0UkW1DRbm01j6DCVS0r1sTxn7nmQCKTC8NlYQeby_L_oLCgXWMryjcvm38fi2bueAfjuw4vpReKx2WOJNjOWOjCAzHz9V8tLaC8nn-2r7bwYLY-lSVdaKSxugKvk8A_jjU24Zr80IZgsdtLI4PWTgb1RrtZozJbVCYDr2mlgZP75rPzPt8m-&entry=mc&ved=1t:200715&ictx=111

Is it me or are the most viewed pics are pictures of avaible seating. So I almost exclusivly review restaurants and for whatever reavies pics of the restaurant itself always do the best for some weird reason

At least in my country, I have seen a huge increase of photos which do not relate at all to the place on Maps. Users seem to be simply dumping their whole camera roll on random venues.

At first it was just annoying the Local Guide in me, but it is actually becoming quite inconvenient when I am trying to check out the vibe in a restaurant, bar etc. and half the photos are low quality shots of local landmarks, or a portrait of the uploader's partner, or otherwise unrelated to the place.

Their accounts don't look like bots - they have normal profile pictures and some pretty unassuming reviews. It is often tourists by the looks of their profiles. I report the photos but nothing happens.

Wondering if anyone else has been experiencing this and/or knows how I can help deal with it? Like I say, I report them often but I don't think I've ever seen one of these removed, even though my place edits etc. are usually approved really fast.

This company is a business located at another city somewhere close to Houston but is attempting to set up a maps listing in San Antonio, specifically at 13423 Blanco Rd #687, San Antonio, TX 78216. This is affecting my business.

https://preview.redd.it/b9nnekpmewzd1.jpg?width=1425&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e57e6f7d81ed7291eb0112e711082464c9a80a4a

I've tried approximately 5 times to edit this to it's real name over this past year. It should be "Black Sabbath Bench" as in the band. Google keeps rejecting it. It annoys me every time I see it: https://maps.app.goo.gl/aZCHuHo9v2eEQD8j8

I've cleared cache and storage, I think this is an issue with my internal profile not global but it doesn't hurt to ask.

Thank you for your help

Why? Almost all my other edits get accepted almost instantly, at most within an hour. I have 15+ road edits pending to be accepted. Like all of them are clearly visible paths on Google's own satellite imagery and even if they're not that clearly visible, I can't be the only one that has walked though them. Some just don't get accepted for no reason. I don't get it.

Hey guys,me again,i am trying to help a colleague of mine,they recently created the listing and everything was fine up until recently where google kicked them out of their listing and basically removed their website,the business is located at 2141 SR-257 Otwell IN and their business is called Maka Mia Pizza-Otwell.If anyone can suggest an edit for the website to be added it would be amazing,i am in contact with them to help them regain their control over the listing but its not accepting the business video,their website is called - makamiapizzaotwell.com and here is the maps link as well https://www.google.com/search?q=Maka+Mia+Pizza+-+Otwell+2141+SR-257%2C+Otwell+IN%2C+47564&rlz=1C1GCEU_en&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8 thanks guys you rock!!

There is a small park near my house, and I'm trying to get it on google maps as I'm trying to sell my house and it would make it more attractive to buyers as it's a quite "under the radar" location. I've added this park maybe 7 times over the past 5 years and whenever it gets 20 or so reviews and some picture it will suddenly be closed.
Now it's not even adding it after i apply anymore.

I know who is doing this, it's a another person who lives in the village who doesn't want others coming to visit as it will "ruin her peace". I tried asking her not to but she would get extremely heated.
Personally I don't understand the argument, we don't own public spaces, and they should be enjoyed by all. But I've given up trying to discuss anything with these hippie types. But they are some of the most close minded true fascists who only accept their view of the world and don't accept any other interpretations.

Anywho, what can I do to make this place not be deleted constantly? It is not even adding the place anymore.

Hey guys,a colleague of mine reached out after he saw that my isse got resolved here,he has a listing which google has refused his website and actually kicked him all together from the listing,his business is located at 67 Terhune Ave , Jersey City NJ,if you guys can suggest an edit for this website - laicosmenu.com his business is called Laicos,I am helping him get the listing back but in the meantime if the website gets added that would be great since its affecting his business. Map link - https://www.google.com/maps?sca_esv=5b4135254b5cefab&rlz=1C1GCEU_en&output=search&q=Laico%27s+67+Terhune+Ave,+Jersey+City+NJ,+07305&source=lnms&fbs=AEQNm0Aa4sjWe7Rqy32pFwRj0UkW1DRbm01j6DCVS0r1sTxn7nmQCKTC8NlYQeby_L_oLCgXWMryjcvm38fi2bueAfjuw4vpReKx2WOJNjOWOjCAzHz9V8tLaC8nn-2r7bwYLY-lSVdaKSxugKvk8A_jjU24Zr80IZgsdtLI4PWTgb1RrtZozJbVCYDr2mlgZP75rPzPt8m-&entry=mc&ved=1t:200715&ictx=111

Thanks a lot guys!

After one whole year of appealing almost every twice a month, finally they reinstated my local guide. I was banned for no reason and until one morning I woke up with this email.

So, I had a crazy question.. How does a person find a loan shark in Chattanooga ?? Just a hypothetical question I figured I would throw out to stir this place up..

I just realized that I still haven’t unlocked the Reviewer award branch despite having reviewed quite a lot of places, and I’m not sure why this is. Any thoughts?

1. Taking PhotoSpheres

(If you have a Pixel 7 phone ir below you should be able to do this with the built in camera app. If not, follow this step.)

The first (and easiest) method to take PhotoSpheres is to download an app off of the Google Play Store or Apple App Store. The one I have used personally is this one. It isn't that great but it does the job. There are many other options you could look through to possibly find a better one. If you have an iOS device, you can try this one. I have not tested it personally though.

The second method to take PhotoSpheres is to sideload the old Google Street View app. You used to be able to publish PhotoSpheres with this app, but the API's have changed so you can't. However, if you sideload it, you can still take PhotoSpheres, but not pubish them as I said earlier. To install it, download the .apk file from APKMirror. When it is finished downloading, open it. You might need to allow "install unknown apps" from whatever app you downloaded it from. Once it is done installing, open the app. Tap "Create" at the bottom of the screen. Tap "Photo Sphere". Then, take your PhotoSphere. Once you're done, the app will save the PhotoSphere to the "panoramas" folder in your gallery.

The third method to take PhotoSpheres is to sideload a port of the Pixel Camera app. To find one for your device, check out this XDA Forums post. Once you have downloaded the .apk file, open it. You might need to allow "install unknown apps" from whatever app you downloaded it from. Once it is done installing, open the app. Tap "more" at the bottom of the screen, and then tap "Photo Sphere". Then, take your PhotoSphere. It will be stored in the regular "Camera" folder in your gallery.

The fourth method to take PhotoSpheres is to take a panorama with your phones camera app (make sure it is a full 360 pano) and then put it through this pano to 360 converter. Now, if you are on mobile, you can use exiffixer.com to change the metadata so it is recognised as a 360 photo. There is a chance Google won't accept this 360 photo when you publish it though (I'm unsure as to why). In that case, you can use exiftool on a computer. First, open command prompt. Type "cd " followed by the path to where you downloaded exiftool. Then press enter. Then type exiftool.exe -ProjectionType=equirectangular -UsePanoramaViewer=true YOUR_FILE_NAME, replacing YOUR_FILE_NAME with the file's actual name.

The fifth method is to use a normal 360 camera. Personally, I somehow managed to get one of these for $15 AUD, however, most 360 cameras cost a lot more than that.

2. Publishing PhotoSpheres

1. The best way at the moment to publish photospheres is to use u/funny_b0t2 's website, maps.moomoo.me. It's super easy, just upload your 360 photo, enter the coordinates to where you want the PhotoSphere to be, and hit "Upload". Soon, I will be adding to this website, allowing you to add a heading and assigning to a place.

2. Use panoee.com. This software allows you to create virtual tours with your 360 photos, and publish them to Google Street View. You get a free trial which doesn't require a credit card, but after that free trial you have to pay.

3. Use Pano2VR. This software allows you to publish connected PhotoSpheres to Street View. It has loads of great features, however the free trial has watermarks all over the image, and the full version costs 449 Euros. So not cheap.

4. Use the Google Maps app. This option provides the easiest experience, however you are forced to upload PhotoSpheres to exactly where a place has been marked on the map, and not specific locations.

Thanks for reading and I hope this helped!

Sometimes we have a lot of backlogs of uploading our pics and videos and it becomes a really hard task scrolling down a lot (for each location tag) in order to access the pics and videos that are few months old. Usually, I’m a quick uploader (within a week), but earlier this year, I traveled extensively with intensive activities like hiking, so it wasn’t physically possible to keep up. Plus, the major Google Maps glitch in February affected all of us local guides and lowered my motivation.

Recently, as I began tackling these backlogs, I found the constant scrolling to find specific photos and videos quite frustrating. Here are some ways to streamline the process. (I’m assuming you’re using Google Photos for storage; if not, consider backing up your data there if you have sufficient Google account storage.)

1. On the web, i.e. laptop/desktop - If you are uploading only pics then the simple way is just search for the date (e.g. 12 june) on the search bar (which opens after you've clicked on add new pics for a given tag). All pics from that date are displayed and you can simply select from them. The issue with uploading from web is the video part. For videos you have to click on upload new videos separately and then the search by date method doesn't work (it displays the pics only from that date). Furthermore, if your video is more than 30sec or more than 75MB, you cannot select it for uploading.
2. On phone - To manage both photos and videos, I find the phone app more convenient. Here’s a helpful approach: create new albums in Google Photos dedicated to specific days or events, such as "Trip to XYZ".  Then, when uploading, you can quickly navigate to that album and select the items without endless scrolling. On mobile, videos and photos are handled together, with videos automatically trimmed to 30 seconds.

The desktop process for handling videos still needs improvement, and hopefully, the Google Maps team will improve this.

Hey guys,about a month ago i reached out here for a suggest an edit on a location that my friend has,the website was added sucessfully but 2 days ago Google removed it,is anyone able to suggest an edit ? The business is called Habibi Pizza at 380 E Glenwood Ave in Akron Oh and their website is habibipizza.com here is the map link - https://www.google.com/maps/place/Habibi+Pizza,+380+E+Glenwood+Ave,+Akron,+OH+44310,+%D0%A1%D0%BE%D0%B5%D0%B4%D0%B8%D0%BD%D0%B5%D1%82%D0%B8+%D0%90%D0%BC%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%B0%D0%BD%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8+%D0%94%D1%80%D0%B6%D0%B0%D0%B2%D0%B8/@41.0969125,-81.5027913,17z/data=!4m6!3m5!1s0x88312964b7b99d61:0x7860fee1163e3a5f!8m2!3d41.0969125!4d-81.5027913!16s%2Fg%2F11sxyfjknr?source=lnms

Not really sure what they mean by "get a lot".

Maybe a lot of points. Not sure what "a lot" I can do with them.

https://preview.redd.it/xgvnvxbkkbyd1.png?width=785&format=png&auto=webp&s=81096dc64c1f567281dc23ec4329522754004033

So many many incorrect photos tagged to so many locations!

We should be able to get points and badge recognition for weeding these out.

A new badge would incentivise policing bad actors and purging inaccuracies.

Someone keeps changing the names of my local park on google and despite my attempts of renaming and reporting it google hasnt changed it. Is there any way i can restore it? I really like this park.

https://preview.redd.it/ti6skivjhrxd1.png?width=586&format=png&auto=webp&s=700801365c317f4b988d156ead599759919aa536

According to my Google account, I have written two reviews, but I am unable to see them. I'm guessing I wrote these reviews years ago. How can I access them so I can delete them?

Our official forum was upgrated to a Discource based forum which is quite a bit more user-friendly and fit for mobil users.

Screenshot shows the 4 new categories.

Give it a spin at localguidesconnect.com