Why Google review images appear as broken links (403 error)

You may notice that some images from Google reviews display as broken links in your widgets. This happens when Google returns a 403 Forbidden error for the image, preventing it from loading properly.

What's happening

When you import Google reviews using Senja's auto import feature, some reviewer profile photos or review images may appear as broken image icons instead of displaying correctly. This occurs because Google's servers return a 403 Forbidden error when the image is requested.

Why this happens

The 403 error is generated by Google, not by Senja. Several factors can cause Google to restrict access to review images:

• Image permissions: The original image may have been made private by its owner or removed from Google's servers

• Rate limiting: Google may temporarily restrict access to images to prevent excessive requests

• Internal policies: Google's internal systems may block certain images based on their own content or security policies

This is a known limitation that affects many applications using Google's review data, not just Senja.

What we cannot control

Since this issue originates from Google's servers, Senja cannot:

• Force Google to serve the images

• Fix or prevent the 403 errors

• Access alternative versions of the restricted images

• Predict which images will be affected

The availability of Google review images is entirely dependent on Google's systems and policies.

Expected behavior

You should expect this limitation when using Google reviews in your widgets:

• Some images will display correctly while others appear broken

• The pattern is not predictable - it varies by review and time

• Text content from reviews remains unaffected

• The overall functionality of your widget continues to work normally

Alternative approaches

If consistent image display is important for your use case, consider these alternatives:

Collect testimonials directly

Instead of relying solely on Google reviews, collect testimonials directly from your customers. This gives you full control over the content and images.

Use multiple review sources

Import reviews from multiple platforms to diversify your testimonial sources and reduce dependence on Google reviews alone.

Focus on review content

The most valuable part of any review is the written content. Consider designing your widgets to emphasize the review text rather than profile images.

Troubleshooting your widget

If you're experiencing other issues with your widget display, check our widget troubleshooting guide to ensure the problem isn't related to other technical factors.

For widget-specific display issues on mobile devices, see our guide on why widgets don't display on mobile.