Getting a photo off the internet is two separate jobs: removing it from the website that hosts it, and removing it from search results like Google Images. Start with the website, because once the source is gone Google can drop the result quickly through its outdated content tool; if the site will not cooperate, Google has its own removal routes for personal information, intimate images and copyright.
This guide explains both jobs, which Google form fits which situation, the copyright (DMCA) and GDPR routes, and what to expect afterwards. If you have not yet found every copy, run a digital footprint audit first so you are working from a complete list.
Source removal vs search removal
| Source removal | Search removal | |
|---|---|---|
| What changes | The page or file hosting the image | Whether Google, Bing and others show it in results |
| Who decides | The site owner, platform or hosting provider | The search engine, under its own policies |
| Effect | The image is gone for everyone who visits the page | The page and image still exist; people just cannot find them through that search engine |
| Best for | Any case where the site will cooperate | Sites that ignore you, or results that linger after the source is gone |
A search result can disappear while the image is still reachable by direct link. A site can delete the image while Google keeps showing an old thumbnail for a while. Neither action deletes a photo from "the internet": every independent copy on another site is a separate request. The realistic goal is a documented reduction in the exposure you care about.
Step 1: Record exactly what you want removed
Removal teams act on URLs, not descriptions. For each copy, save:
- The page URL, copied from the address bar of the page that shows the image.
- The image URL, by right-clicking the image and choosing "Copy image address" (or "Copy Image Link" in Safari). On a phone, press and hold the image.
- The Google result URL, if you are dealing with a search result. In Google Images, click the result and use the "Visit" link to reach the source page.
- A dated screenshot that shows the image in context, kept privately.
- The reason: impersonation, private information, intimate imagery, copyright, outdated content or wrong context. The reason decides which form you use.
Keep the evidence to yourself rather than reposting the image to complain about it. The impersonation evidence guide covers screenshots, URLs and saving pages before they disappear.
Step 2: Ask the website or platform
Start here whenever possible, because it fixes the problem at the root.
- Social platforms (Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, X, dating apps) have in-app report options for impersonation, privacy, harassment and intellectual property. Use the category that matches the problem.
- Ordinary websites usually have a contact page, privacy email or "report content" link in the footer. A short, specific request works best; the photo removal request templates have ready wording.
- If there is no contact, look up who hosts the site. The ICANN Lookup tool shows a domain's registrar and often an abuse contact, and many hosting companies act on abuse reports about content on their servers.
If you control the page yourself (an old blog, a company site you manage), delete the image file as well as the page, because the file can stay reachable at its own address.
Step 3: Choose the right Google removal route
Google explains the overall process in remove an image from Google search results. Pick the route that matches your situation:
| Your situation | Google route | Needs the source to be removed first? |
|---|---|---|
| Image already deleted or changed at the source, but still in Google | Remove outdated content tool | Yes |
| Page shows your phone, home address or email | Results about you or the personal information request | No |
| Doxxing, ID documents, financial or medical details | Personal information removal policy | No |
| Intimate or explicit image shared without consent, including AI-generated fakes | Non-consensual explicit imagery request, under the same policy | No |
| Photo of someone under 18 | Request for removal of images of minors, under the same policy | No |
| You own the copyright and the site copied it | Copyright removal request | No |
| You are in the EU or UK and the result is about you | EU privacy (right to be forgotten) request | No |
The outdated content tool
This is the fastest route when the site has already done its part. Paste the image URL or page URL. If the page now returns "not found", Google can drop it; if the page still exists but the image or text changed, the tool asks you for a word that no longer appears. You do not need to own the site. It does not work while the image is still live at the source.
Personal information and Results about you
Google's personal information policy covers contact details shared in a way that risks harm, government ID numbers, bank and card details, medical records, login credentials, and pages from sites that charge to remove content. Results about you lets you request removal of results containing your phone, address or email from inside your Google account and can alert you when new ones appear. Removal hides the result in Google only.
Non-consensual intimate images
For explicit or intimate images published without your consent, report to the platform first and use Google's dedicated form. StopNCII.org lets adults create a hash (a digital fingerprint) of an intimate image on their own device so participating platforms can block copies without the image ever being uploaded. For images of anyone under 18, NCMEC's Take It Down service works the same way.
Copyright (DMCA) requests
A copyright request is for the owner of the photo, which usually means the person who took it, not the person in it. If you took the selfie, you generally own it. If a friend or a photographer took the picture, they usually do, unless a contract says otherwise. Being the subject of a photo is a privacy or impersonation issue, not a copyright one.
If you do own it:
- Use Google's copyright removal form for search results and the hosting site's or host's DMCA contact for the source. The US Copyright Office explains the notice-and-takedown system under Section 512.
- A valid notice includes your contact details, the work you own, the exact infringing URLs, a good-faith statement, an accuracy statement made under penalty of perjury, and your signature.
- Google may send a copy of the notice to the Lumen database, where it can be published with personal details redacted. The site owner can file a counter-notice.
- Do not send a copyright notice for a photo you do not own. Knowingly false claims can create legal liability, and the request will usually fail anyway.
Reverse image search helps find copies of your work, but it cannot prove ownership: the earliest indexed copy is not necessarily the first publication, and a watermark only shows who added it. Keep your original files and export history. Finding the original source of an image explains how to trace earlier copies.
GDPR right to erasure
If you are in the EU or UK, Article 17 of the GDPR gives you the right to ask an organisation to erase personal data, including photos of you, in several situations: the data is no longer needed, you withdraw consent, or you object and there is no overriding legitimate reason to keep it. Organisations normally must respond within one month. The right has exceptions, notably freedom of expression and journalism. You can use it against the website, and separately against Google through its EU privacy form, which delists results for searches on your name.
Bing and other search engines
Google is not the only index. Bing's Content Removal Tool handles outdated pages and images, and Microsoft has its own forms for privacy and intimate imagery. DuckDuckGo and Yahoo rely largely on Bing's results, so a Bing removal usually carries over. Check each engine yourself after a removal rather than assuming one covers the others.
Face search engines and image indexes
Face search engines build their own indexes of public photos. If one shows your face, look for its removal or opt-out page; PimEyes, for example, publishes a way to request removal. Removing a result from a face search index does not remove the photo from the source page, and the reverse is also true.
Facehunch is a separate case. It sends your uploaded photo to its search provider to run the search and requests deletion of the upload afterwards. It does not host or own the indexed source photos, so to remove those, use the source site and the index provider's own process. The data removal page explains this in full.
Before you upload a photo to any search tool
When you search for your own photos, the upload is itself a small disclosure. Prepare a separate copy:
- Crop out other people, notifications, mail, badges and anything else unrelated to the question.
- Export a fresh copy, which drops most metadata such as GPS location on most phones.
- Do not use AI tools to "fill in" or repair the image; invented detail makes matching worse.
- Keep the untouched original separately. You may need it as evidence.
Read the tool's retention terms before uploading, and only search with photos you are entitled to use. Photo search privacy covers what happens to uploads across common tools.
What to expect after you submit
| Request | Typical outcome |
|---|---|
| Platform impersonation or privacy report | Often reviewed within days; you get an in-app or email decision |
| Website owner request | Varies widely; small sites may answer in days, others never |
| Hosting provider abuse report | Usually acknowledged; action depends on their terms and the law where they operate |
| Google outdated content | Often fast once the source is gone; status shows in the tool |
| Google personal info or copyright request | Reviewed case by case; Google emails a decision and may ask for more detail |
| GDPR erasure request | Response normally due within one month, extendable for complex cases |
Recheck both the source and the search result after each response, and log the date and outcome. If a request stalls, follow up once with the reference number and what you can still see; the follow-up and escalation templates cover the wording. If someone is using the photo to pretend to be you, report the account as impersonation as well; the fake account using my photos page explains that route.
Written by Facehunch with AI assistance and checked against the cited sources. Our editorial policy.