Google Can Remove Business Profile Posts With Unverified Contact Info

Google has rewritten the rule on contact details in Business Profile posts. The old rule banned every phone number in a post. The new rule says Google “may remove posts with unverified contact information”, and it names phone numbers, email addresses, and social media handles. A number Google can connect to your business is now allowed. Anything it cannot connect is a removal risk. For most trades the answer does not change: put the Call now button on the post and keep contact details out of the text.

What actually happened

Search Engine Roundtable reported the change on September 25, 2026, after Hiroko Imai spotted it on LinkedIn. Two Google help pages changed.

The posts content policy now reads: “To avoid fraud or abuse, we may remove posts with unverified contact information. This includes phone numbers, email addresses, and social media handles.” It then suggests the alternative: “attach a Call now button to your post. This uses your verified Business Profile phone number so customers can contact you.” An archived copy of the same page from August 31, 2026 still carried the old sentence: “To avoid the risk of abuse, we do not allow your post content to include a phone number.”

The help page on creating posts adds a second rule: “Posts that include a phone number in the post description might get rejected if they cannot be verified as being connected to the business on which they are posted.” That page points to adding more phone numbers to the profile itself.

So the change goes two ways. For phone numbers, it is looser: a verified number is no longer banned outright. For email addresses and social media handles, it is stricter: the policy names them for the first time. Google does not say how it verifies a number, and we have not tested where the line is.

What this means for Georgian Bay businesses

The risk is real, and we have seen it on our own profile. One of our Georgian Bay SEO posts ended with a signature block that carried our phone number. Google removed the post and turned off posting for the whole profile until we sorted it out. We cover that in our guide to Google Business Profile posts. That removal happened under the old rule, but the new wording does not make a typed number safe. It only says a verified number may pass.

The posts most at risk are the ones with a second number: a Collingwood roofer’s storm line, a Wasaga Beach cottage cleaner’s booking cell, a Thornbury landscaper’s seasonal office number. If that number is not on the profile, Google has nothing to connect it to. The same goes for “follow us on Instagram @…” at the bottom of a post, or an email address for quotes.

If you post with the Call now button and keep the text clean, nothing changes for you.

What to do

1. Put contact details in the button, not the text. Use Call now for phone calls. Use Learn more or Book to send people to a page on your site.
2. Check your live posts. Look for a phone number, an email address, or a social handle in the text. Edit it out, or delete the post and repost it with a button.
3. Add a second number to the profile if you need it. Google’s own page points to adding more phone numbers to the Business Profile, so a second line has a better chance of being verified there than in a post. A number on the profile has to be staffed.
4. Do not post again right after a removal. If Google removes a post, fix the cause first. A second removal for the same reason can cost you posting on the whole profile.

If posts are one more thing you do not have time to check, our Google Business Profile management covers posts, profile edits, and the notifications Google sends about both.

Frequently asked questions

Can I put my phone number in a Google Business Profile post now?

Google now allows it if the number is verified as connected to your business. It does not say how it verifies that. The Call now button uses the verified number on your profile and carries no removal risk, so it is still the better choice.

Will Google remove posts I published before the change?

Google has not said. The policy applies to posts, not to posts published after a date, so treat any live post with a typed contact detail as exposed and edit it.

Does this apply to email addresses and social media handles?

Yes. The content policy names phone numbers, email addresses, and social media handles. Before September 2026 the policy named only phone numbers.

What happens if Google removes a post?

The post disappears. On our own profile, a removal also turned off posting for the whole profile until we fixed the cause. Fix it before you post again.