Google pioneered the industry with its world-renowned search engine, making it easy to access almost any information in a few clicks. The Google search engine is available on virtually any device connected to the internet, including the company’s Chromebooks. However, it’s sometimes too easy to spread information and images, which can lead to issues if the content infringes copyright or violates someone’s privacy.

Google has made it relatively easy to file a request to remove images from search results, provided they belong to you or violate the company’s guidelines. The process is relatively easy, so here’s how to get started.

Google doesn’t own the images

In most cases, Google crawls the internet and provides results to users based on their queries. This means that even though Google lists an image, you should first contact the website it’s posted on to have it removed. The first reason for this is that the website is responsible for publishing an image it shouldn’t have. Also, if you file a request asking Google to remove an image from search results, that file won’t be removed from the website that posted it. Similarly, other search engines may continue to display it as part of their search results, and it’s virtually impossible to contact every search engine operator, let alone with a high success rate.

If an image violates your privacy or infringes copyright, first contact the site hosting it. To do that, look up a contact link on the site, which is usually in the footer or the About page. Otherwise, you can write an email to privacy@ or webmaster@ followed by the site’s URL. If you’re still out of luck, look up the publicly listed contact information on whois.com and write to that email address.

How to file a request for Google to remove an image from search results

Now that you’ve taken the first step to remove your image from the web, ask Google to remove it from its search results. However, before you do that, it’s important to file the right request, depending on your case. There are two main options to choose from. The first one is relatively simple because that image shouldn’t be on the web in the first place, such as content that violates the law or your privacy. The second one is trickier, as it implies the site has responded positively to your request and removed the image. Still, you’d like to ask Google to remove it from the search results quickly without waiting for it to refresh its database.

Reporting an image for violation

This first case applies to images that appear in Google search results, which you’d like to have removed quickly from the Google Search results, even if the site hasn’t responded to your request. To do this, follow the process below to submit your request so that Google can review it and take appropriate action.

1. Before you start your request, make sure to write down the keywords you initially used to find the image, as well as its URL.
2. Go to this web page to report any legal content issue to Google.
3. Click the blue button that says Create a request.
4. Click the radio button to the left of Google Search.
5. Unless you found the images using a reverse image search, click Google Search a second time. If you found the image using Google Images, click the radio button.
6. Continue filling out the form based on your case. You are most likely to answer No to the question about AI-generated content and file a request due to Legal Reasons to Report Content.

7. Once you’ve filled out the form, another blue Create a request button appears on the page.
8. Fill out the details on the second form that opens on the page. Be specific and include as many details as possible to make it easier for the team to review the claim and understand why the link to the content should be removed.
9. When you’re done, tick the I’m not a robot checkbox and click Submit.
10. You’ll receive a confirmation message with a case number. It may take a while for Google to review the information provided and contact you.

Asking Google to remove outdated content

If the image on Google search has been removed from the internet, such as if the site agreed to your request to remove the content, it isn’t immediately removed from Google search results. These need to be refreshed before the search engine realizes the content is no longer there. You can speed up that process and submit a request to Google to refresh the content. This also works if the image has been replaced with another one, but the search results still display the old one. However, unlike the process above, this one requires a Google account, and you’ll need to log in to complete your request.

1. Navigate to the dedicated page on Google’s Search Console.
2. Click the blue button that reads New request.
3. Click Image.
4. Either enter the web page where the image was hosted as well as the image’s URL or the URL from the Search Image results, which you can get by right-clicking and selecting Copy link address. In most cases, you’ll likely use the second option, especially if the image was removed from the website.

5. Click the blue Submit button.
6. Since the image has been removed, click the small blue text that reads Press here.

7. You’re done. The image should disappear from search results shortly.

Privacy is essential

With these tips, you’ll gain further control of your privacy and avoid unwanted eyes prying on personal content. In addition to these steps, review your browsing history to make sure you have control over your data.