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Year after year, Google amasses countless images of people from around the world. If you’re not too keen on having photos of yourself floating around on the internet, there’s something you can do about it: Have them removed.
In this article, I’m going to show you how to get photos of yourself removed from Google search results.
I have found that, in recent years, tech companies have made it easier to control how your data is used online. If you’re concerned about privacy, you’ll be happy to know that you can make a request to have images of yourself removed by Google search results.
Let’s go over the two-step process on how you can remove photos of yourself from the internet.
The images you see in Google searches are displayed from individual websites. Clicking on the photo you find in search results should send you to the source website. If you see an image of yourself on a specific website, contact the website to have it taken down.
How to contact a website:
Once the image has been taken down by the website you’ve contacted, it may still appear in Google search results for a time.
To have it removed more quickly, you’ll need to contact Google to request that it be taken down.
How to contact Google to get an image removed
Google doesn’t state how long it takes to remove an image from its search results but says that you can check the status of your request on its Remove Outdated Content tool.
To request the removal of an explicit image of a minor, Google wants you to report it to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC).
Google has partnered with NCMEC to help locate images of child exploitation online and get them removed. NCMEC also works with law enforcement to help children who have been victimized.
A list of similar international organizations can be found here.
For non-explicit photos, Google says it will remove images of anyone under age 18 at the request of a parent or guardian. The exception is when the image is “of compelling public interest or newsworthiness.”
Google’s policy on removing images of minors requires the following:
To request the removal of the image of a minor, fill out this Google form.
As the largest search engine in the world, when Google removes an image, it will no longer be seen by the vast majority of web surfers. But that doesn’t mean it won’t be found anywhere on the web.
Because social media platforms and other search engines may have captured the image, the first place to start to get a photo removed is with the specific website that hosts the image.
Google also allows users to have more control over their location history. Here’s how to remove your location history from Google search.
This post was last modified on November 10, 2021 3:37 pm
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