Google My Business app in 2026: what to use instead

If you look for the Google My Business app on the App Store or Google Play, you won't find it. Google retired it in 2022, and many business owners still don't know what to use instead to manage their profile from their phone.

The problem isn't just that the app disappeared. It's that the alternative Google offers now has major limitations that, if you don't know about them, will make you waste time or make mistakes with your profile.

In this article I'll explain exactly what happened, what you can do today from your phone and which tools give you the real control you need.

The Google My Business app no longer exists: here's what you have now

Google retired the Google My Business app in July 2022. It wasn't a technical glitch or an update: it was a deliberate decision to remove the app and steer owners toward other options. If you don't have a profile yet, start by creating your Business Profile on Google.

What Google said at the time was that profile management would be built directly into Google Maps and Search. The idea was that you wouldn't need a separate app because you already had access from the tools you use every day.

In practice, this is what you have now:

• Google Maps (mobile app): you can access your profile from your account menu, in the section for your Business Profile.
• Google Search (app or browser): if you search for your business name while signed in with the owner account, a management panel appears right in the results.
• business.google.com: the official Google Business Profile web dashboard, accessible from any browser, including your phone's.

The change hit small businesses that used the app as their main tool especially hard. Cerrajería López, for example, responded to reviews and uploaded photos from the app every week. When it disappeared, it took them months to find a convenient alternative.

Keep in mind that the name changed too: it's no longer "Google My Business" but Google Business Profile. Although many people still use the old name, the official platform has carried the new name since late 2021.

What you can (and can't) do with your Google profile from your phone

Before you get frustrated trying to find an option that doesn't exist, here's which features are available on mobile and which aren't.

As you can see, the basic day-to-day features are available. But as soon as you need to do something more advanced, your phone falls short.

How to manage your Google Business Profile from your phone's browser

If you want to access the full dashboard from your phone, the most reliable option is to use the browser and go to business.google.com. Here's the process step by step. If you have trouble signing in, go over the Google My Business login step by step.

1. Open your phone's browser (Chrome, Safari or whichever you use) and go to business.google.com.
2. Sign in with the Google account that owns or manages the profile. If you have several accounts, make sure you select the right one.
3. Request the desktop version: in Chrome, tap the three-dot menu and turn on "Desktop site". This gives you access to every feature, not just the stripped-down mobile version.
4. Select the business you want to manage if you have more than one linked to your account.
5. Navigate the dashboard as you would from a computer. You'll have access to statistics, services, photos, reviews and full settings.

That said, working with the desktop version on a small screen isn't comfortable. It's fine for one-off tasks, but if you manage your profile often, you need something better.

Common mistakes when trying to manage your profile from your phone

Let's look at the problems that come up again and again when someone tries to manage their Google Business Profile from their phone without knowing exactly how it works now.

1. Looking for the Google My Business app in the app stores. It still shows up in some App Store search results, but it no longer works. If you install it, it will redirect you to Google Maps or do nothing useful.

2. Confusing the Google Maps account with the account that owns the profile. You may have Google Maps installed with one account, while the profile is registered under another. If they don't match, you won't see the management options.

3. Editing information from Maps without checking that the changes are saved. Restaurante La Brasa changed its Christmas hours from Maps and the change didn't go through because the session had expired. Always confirm that the change shows up on the public profile.

4. Trying to manage multiple profiles from Maps. If you run more than one business, Maps isn't built for that. You'll waste time constantly switching accounts or businesses.

5. Not having the account verified before trying to edit. If your profile isn't verified, many editing options don't appear or the changes don't get published. This isn't a phone problem: it's a prerequisite.

Which Google My Business features we miss in today's app

The original Google My Business app had things that worked really well and that you no longer have natively in any Google alternative.

Real-time notifications for reviews and messages. The app alerted you instantly when someone left a review or sent a message. Now notifications arrive late or don't arrive at all, depending on how you've set up your Google email.

A unified dashboard for multiple businesses. If you managed three or four profiles, the app showed them all together and you could switch between them with a tap. That no longer exists in any native Google app.

Statistics accessible from your phone. Seeing how many calls, website visits or direction requests your profile generated was easy from the app. Now that data is only available in the web dashboard, and on mobile the experience is clunky.

Publishing updates with more options. Creating posts with call-to-action buttons, or adding events or promotions from your phone, was smoother in the original app than in any current alternative.

This means that keeping your profile up to date and well managed from your phone isn't optional. If you can't manage your profile properly because the tools are awkward, your business feels it.

Tools that do give you full control of your profile from any device

If you need to manage your Google Business Profile comfortably from your phone, the solution doesn't come from Google. It comes from platforms designed specifically for that. With local brain, for example, you can publish updates and manage your profile from the browser on any device.

local brain is the all-in-one local SEO platform that lets you manage your profile from any device without the limitations of Google's native tools.

From the local brain profile management dashboard you can do everything you need without switching between apps or hunting for options hidden in unintuitive menus.

These are the features that make the difference:

• Centralized review management: with ReviewSense you get alerts for new reviews and can respond to them directly from the platform, without going into Maps or the Google dashboard.
• Photo upload and management: from the Media module you can upload, organize and publish photos and videos on your profile without any hassle.
• Multiple profiles from a single login: if you run more than one business, you manage it all from the same place without switching accounts or tools.
• Clear statistics: your profile's performance data presented in a way that's easy to understand, not buried in submenus.

Clínica Dental Sonrisa went from managing its profile with three different tools to doing it all from local brain. They put the time they saved on weekly management into creating content for their profile, and their visits from Google Maps grew within a few weeks.

What you should do today if you manage your business on Google from your phone

I'll keep it clear and to the point. If until now you used the Google My Business app, or you're not sure how to manage your profile from your phone, this is what you should do.

1. Check that your profile is verified. Go to business.google.com from your phone's browser and check that your profile's status is "Verified". If it isn't, that's your first step before anything else.
2. Set up Google email notifications. Go to your Google Business Profile account settings and turn on notifications for reviews and messages. It's the most direct way to stay on top of things without depending on an app.
3. Decide which tasks you'll do from your phone and which from your desktop. Responding to reviews and uploading photos: from your phone. Editing services, viewing statistics or managing users: from your computer or from a dedicated platform.
4. Consider using a dedicated tool if you manage more than one profile. Google's native tools aren't designed for agencies or for businesses with multiple locations. A platform like local brain saves you time and mistakes.

Quick checklist

• ☐ Profile verified on Google Business Profile
• ☐ Review notifications turned on by email
• ☐ Access to business.google.com tested from your phone
• ☐ Google My Business app uninstalled if you had it
• ☐ Management tool chosen based on how many profiles you manage

The Google My Business app no longer exists, and waiting for Google to bring it back makes no sense. What you can do is adapt to what's available and choose the tools that give you the control you need.

If you run a single profile and only need basic tasks, Maps and Search will do the job day to day. If you need more control, more data or you manage several profiles, local brain is designed exactly for that.

Remember that your Google profile is one of the most important assets of your local business. Don't manage it with whatever happens to be at hand; manage it with what works.