Finding out your photo shows up in Google search results — especially one you didn’t post, don’t like, or never agreed to have online — is unsettling. The good news: you have real options, and most of them don’t require a lawyer or a fee.
This guide walks through every legitimate way to get a photo removed from Google, in the order you should actually try them.
Here’s the part most guides skip: Google is a search engine, not the internet. Removing a photo from Google’s search results makes it harder to find — but if the image still lives on the original website, it hasn’t actually gone away. Someone with the direct link, or searching on Bing or Yandex instead, could still find it.
That distinction matters for what you do next. Sometimes de-indexing from Google is enough (most people find things through Google). Other times, you need the image gone from its actual source. This guide covers both.
If you posted the photo yourself — an old social media post, a profile you forgot about, a listing site — start here. Delete it at the source, and Google will eventually stop showing it once it recrawls the page (this can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks).
If a friend or family member posted it, a direct ask is often the fastest fix. Most people take a photo down quickly when someone tells them it’s causing a real problem.
If you don’t control the source but the photo appears alongside your personal information (your name, address, phone number, or other identifying details), Google has a dedicated tool for this: Results About You. You can search your own name, flag results, and request Google review and remove them from search — without needing to touch the original site.
This works well for people-search sites, data broker listings, and similar pages, but it’s a request, not a guarantee — Google reviews each case individually.
Google has separate, faster-moving removal paths for certain categories of harmful content, including:
If your situation falls into one of these categories, Google’s content removal request form routes to a review process built specifically for these harms. If your case involves this kind of content, see our guide on what to do if someone is threatening to share your photos for the fuller picture, including options beyond Google itself.
If you took the photo yourself — a selfie, a photo you had professionally taken — you generally own the copyright to it, even if someone else is using it without your permission. That gives you a legal basis to file a DMCA takedown notice, which you can submit to:
A DMCA notice needs to include the image location, proof of your ownership, and a statement made under penalty of perjury that the use is unauthorized. It sounds more intimidating than it is — Google and most hosting providers have standardized forms that walk you through it. For a fuller walkthrough of this process, see our guide: A Simple DMCA Takedown Guide for Photographers.
Sometimes the simplest path is also the most effective: a clear, professional, written request directly to whoever runs the site. Most website owners aren’t trying to cause harm — they may not even realize the image is unauthorized — and a polite, specific request (include the exact URL, explain the situation briefly, ask for removal by a reasonable date) resolves more cases than people expect.
For a full walkthrough of what to say and how to follow up if you’re ignored, see what to do if someone is using your photo without permission.
Realistically:
Here’s the uncomfortable truth: removing one instance of a photo doesn’t stop it from being re-uploaded somewhere else, or appearing on a site you don’t know about yet. Manual removal is reactive — you find out, then you act, then you wait to find out again.
That’s the gap Korrald is built to close. Instead of a one-time search-and-remove effort, Korrald’s Scout engine continuously monitors the web for new, unauthorized uses of your photos — including the harder-to-reach corners standard search engines don’t fully cover — and notifies you the moment a new match appears. When it does, Korrald helps you send a professional removal request in a tap, instead of starting this whole process over from scratch.
Want ongoing protection, not just a one-time search?
Korrald monitors the web for unauthorized use of your images automatically — including places regular search engines don’t reach. One selfie, continuous monitoring, and removal requests you can send with a tap.