Apple Business (formerly Business Connect)

How ratings and reviews work on Apple Maps

Apple's own ratings are thumbs-up or thumbs-down votes on a few categories, not written star reviews. They aren't tied to the rater's Apple Account, and Apple Business gives owners no way to reply to or remove them.

4 steps

  1. Step 1: Open your business in Apple Maps and scroll the place card to see the ratings and reviews customers see.
    1 min
  2. Step 2: Try it as a customer: select Rate on a place card, then Like or Dislike for each category, and Done.
    2 min
  3. Step 3: If a photo or detail on your card is wrong or abusive, use Report an Issue at the bottom of the place card.
    3 min
  4. Step 4: Fix what drives dislikes, then let all your customers know they can rate you in Maps, with no reward attached.
    ongoing
  5. Arrived: You understand what the ratings mean, have reported anything that breaks Apple's rules, and are working on the causes of dislikes rather than the scores.

Checked 13 Nov 2026 · source: support.apple.com

Votes, not reviews

The main difference from Google is the format. When someone rates a place in Apple Maps, they select Rate on the place card and tap Like or Dislike for each category Apple offers for that kind of place. They can also add photos. Apple’s help page for the feature doesn’t mention writing a review or choosing a number of stars.

That changes how you read your score. A dislike isn’t a paragraph you can answer; it’s one vote on one aspect of the visit. The useful question is which category gets the dislikes, because that tells you what to fix.

Apple’s Maps help also says a place card can show “ratings and reviews,” but it doesn’t explain where any written reviews come from. If you see review text on your card that clearly comes from another site, deal with it on that site.

Anonymous by design

Apple says ratings are associated with an identifier that rotates regularly and is not linked to the person’s Apple Account. You can’t see who rated you, and there’s no profile to check. Photos work differently: Apple links them to the uploader’s Apple Account to keep the service honest, and checks the uploader’s approximate location to confirm authenticity.

Apple may prompt people to rate or photograph a place they recently visited or photographed. Those suggestions are processed on the person’s device.

What owners can and can’t do

You can’t reply to a rating, flag one for removal or hide your score from Apple Business; the Apple Business guide has no ratings section at all. Apple says it filters submissions that break its terms, may blur or not post them, and may block the account behind them.

What you can do:

  • Report wrong details with Report an Issue on the place card, or from the Maps menu with Report Place Issue. Apple’s report page doesn’t promise a reply or a time frame.
  • Keep your hours and status accurate. A customer who finds a closed door when Maps said open has a reason to tap Dislike.
  • Tell customers, all of them, that they can rate you in Maps. Never pay for ratings, reward them or steer only happy customers toward them.

A handful of ratings is fine

If you have only a handful of Apple ratings, don’t panic. Apple doesn’t publish a minimum number of ratings or say how they affect where you appear in search. Spend the time on accurate details and good photos, which you control.

If it doesn't work

  • You can't find a reply button: there isn't one. Apple Business has no section on responding to ratings.
  • A rating seems unfair: Apple doesn't describe a way for owners to dispute individual ratings. Raters can change or remove their own rating in Maps.
  • The Rate button doesn't show on your place card: Apple says some locations can't be rated and the feature isn't available in all countries or regions.
  • Written reviews from another site show on your card: Apple's help pages don't say where those come from. Manage them on that site.

Questions owners ask

Is an Apple Maps rating the same as a Google review?

No. On Google a customer writes a review with stars under their profile name. Apple's rating flow asks for Like or Dislike on categories, plus optional photos. Apple says ratings use an identifier that rotates and isn't linked to the person's Apple Account.

Is it worth mentioning Apple Maps ratings on my receipts or signs?

Our advice: a short line such as 'You can also rate us in Apple Maps' next to your Google ask is enough. Keep it the same for every customer, and don't let it replace the Google ask, since Apple's rating flow is Like or Dislike votes rather than written reviews.

One category keeps getting dislikes. What should I do?

Treat it as feedback on that part of the visit. Check the likely causes, such as posted hours that don't match reality, and fix what you can. There's no way to reply to a rating, so the fix itself is your answer.

Sources

Checked 13 Nov 2026. When the platform changes its process we update this page and log it in What changed.

Related fixes

Written by Ellis Marr (a pen name) · Checked 13 Nov 2026 · How we check