Face search engines don't look for copies of a photo. They look for the person in it. You upload a face, and services such as PimEyes and FaceCheck.ID return other photos online that seem to show the same person, often from completely different pictures. That makes them useful for finding where your own face appears, and it's also why they raise serious privacy and legal questions. This guide explains how they work, what the main services do, and how to check for your face and get it removed.
Key takeaways
- A regular reverse image search matches the picture. A face search engine matches the face, so it can find photos you've never seen.
- PimEyes and FaceCheck.ID both let you search with a face photo for free, but full source links usually require payment. Both offer a free removal process for your own face.
- Opting out of a face search engine only hides results in that service. The photo stays on the original website until the site owner or host takes it down.
- Face data is regulated in some places. Examples include Illinois's Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) and the GDPR's rules on biometric data. Using these tools on strangers can be unethical and, in some cases, unlawful.
- Google's "Results about you" tool handles a different problem: it removes Search results that show your phone number, home address, email address, or (in the US) government ID numbers.
How face search differs from reverse image search
When you search with an image in Google Lens, TinEye, or Bing, the engine analyzes the whole picture: colors, shapes, objects, and text. It returns exact copies, resized or cropped versions, and pictures that look visually similar. That's ideal for finding where a photo came from or spotting a stolen profile picture. But if the same person appears in a different photo, with different lighting, clothes, or background, a general engine usually won't connect the two.
A face search engine works differently. It first detects the face in your upload. It then converts the face into a numerical template, often called a faceprint or embedding, that describes features such as the spacing and shape of the eyes, nose, and jawline. That template is compared against a database of faceprints that the service built by crawling public web pages. Results are ranked by similarity, not by whether the images are identical.
| Reverse image search | Face search engine | |
|---|---|---|
| What it matches | The whole image or objects in it | Facial features only |
| Finds different photos of the same person | Rarely | Yes, that's the point |
| Typical cost | Free | Free previews; paid for full links |
| Main risk | Low; results are public pages | Can identify and track people; false matches |
| Best for | Finding photo sources, fake listings, copied images | Finding where your own face appears online |
Mainstream engines are built to identify objects, products, places, and copies of images, not to put a name to a stranger's face, so they're rarely useful for face-specific searches. If your goal is to check a dating profile, start with a normal reverse search. Our catfish check guide covers that workflow.
The main face search services
PimEyes
PimEyes is the best-known consumer face search engine. You upload one or more photos of a face, and it returns thumbnails of matching faces from public websites. Free searches show limited results: you see that a match exists, but the source web address is hidden. Paid subscriptions unlock source links, more daily searches, and alerts that notify you when new matches appear. Higher tiers add help with takedown requests to other websites. Independent reviews report that PimEyes does not index major social networks, so results mostly come from news sites, blogs, company pages, forums, and image hosts.
PimEyes runs a free opt-out form. In it, PimEyes states that it stores "face fingerprints" of photos found on public websites and that it cannot remove images from the sites that host them.
FaceCheck.ID
FaceCheck.ID markets itself for checking whether someone is who they say they are, for example before a date or a business deal. It uses a credit system: you can run a basic search for free, but seeing the source links requires buying credits. Results come with a match score, and the service says lower scores are less reliable. Reviews describe an index that includes social media, news, and mugshot-type pages, which makes misidentification especially harmful. FaceCheck.ID's "Remove My Photos" page describes removal as always free.
Clearview AI and other tools
Clearview AI built a large faceprint database from scraped images, but it isn't open to the public. Under a 2022 settlement in ACLU v. Clearview AI, the company is permanently barred from selling access to its database to most private businesses in the US. Its customers are mainly government and law enforcement agencies. Several European regulators have fined it. You can't search it yourself, but some residents can make data requests (see removal below).
A match is not an identification. Face search results are ranked by similarity. Lookalikes, siblings, low-resolution photos, and heavy filters all produce false matches. Never accuse, contact, or publish anything about someone based only on a face search result.
Legal and ethical considerations
This is a general overview, not legal advice. Laws vary by country and state and are changing quickly.
United States: Illinois BIPA and other state laws
There's no single federal law on face recognition. The strongest state law is Illinois's Biometric Information Privacy Act (740 ILCS 14), passed in 2008. It covers "face geometry" along with fingerprints, voiceprints, and eye scans. Private companies must publish a retention and destruction policy and get written consent before collecting a person's biometric identifiers. They can't sell or profit from that data. Individuals can sue directly, with liquidated damages of $1,000 per negligent violation and $5,000 per intentional or reckless violation. A 2024 amendment (SB 2979, signed August 2, 2024) means repeated collection of the same person's data by the same method now counts as a single violation, and it allows electronic signatures for consent. BIPA is why the Clearview AI settlement included an opt-out for Illinois residents.
Texas and Washington also have biometric privacy laws, and several state consumer privacy laws treat biometric data as sensitive. These are mostly enforced by state attorneys general rather than through private lawsuits.
Europe and the UK: GDPR
Under the GDPR and UK GDPR, biometric data processed "for the purpose of uniquely identifying a natural person" is special category data under Article 9. That means it's banned unless a specific exception applies, such as explicit consent. The UK Information Commissioner's Office notes that an ordinary digital photo isn't automatically biometric data. It becomes biometric data once it's processed into a template for automated matching, which is exactly what face search engines do. In May 2024 the Dutch data protection authority fined Clearview AI €30.5 million, finding in part that it had processed biometric data unlawfully.
If you live in the EU or UK, the GDPR gives you rights against these services, including the right to access the data they hold about you (Article 15) and to ask for erasure (Article 17). You can also complain to your national data protection authority if a service doesn't respond.
The ethics
Even where searching is legal, face search turns any photo taken in public, such as a stranger on a train or a protester in a news photo, into a possible route to their name, workplace, and social circle. Documented harms include stalking, harassment, and exposure of people who had good reason to stay hidden. The safest rule is to search only your own face, or someone who has clearly agreed to it.
How to check whether your face is indexed
Searching for yourself is the most defensible use of these tools. A careful process looks like this:
- Pick two or three clear photos. Use front-facing, well-lit photos without sunglasses or heavy filters, plus one at a different angle. Crop to just your face so other people aren't searched.
- Run a normal reverse image search first. Try each photo in Google Lens and TinEye to catch exact copies of pictures you've posted. Our reverse image search guide walks through each engine.
- Search a face engine. Upload the same photos to PimEyes or FaceCheck.ID. Read the terms first. Note how many matches there are and what kinds of sites appear in the free preview.
- Record what you find. Take screenshots with dates, and note any visible domain names. You'll need the exact web addresses for removal requests later.
- Decide whether paying is worth it. Without paying, you may not see source links. Before you pay, check whether the free opt-out (below) already solves your problem. Opting out hides results even if you never see the sources.
Tip: Search for your name too, in quotes, alongside your city or employer. Many pages that carry your photo also carry your name, and a name search finds them for free.
How to request removal
Removal happens in layers. A face search opt-out hides your face in that one service. The original photo stays online, and Google can still show it, until the site that hosts it takes it down.
PimEyes opt-out
- Open the opt-out page on pimeyes.com (linked from the site footer and in our sources below).
- Upload a photo of your face. PimEyes recommends more than one, from different angles. Confirm you're over 18 and accept the terms.
- Verify your identity with an anonymized scan of an ID or passport. Follow the on-page instructions to black out everything except what's needed.
- Enter an email address and confirm the request from the message PimEyes sends you. Save the confirmation.
PimEyes says the photo you upload is excluded from future search results and is used only to process the request. Re-check after a few weeks with a different photo of yourself.
FaceCheck.ID removal
- Search FaceCheck.ID with a photo of yourself.
- Click Remove My Photos in the top menu and select the results that show you.
- Confirm with a live selfie, which is usually approved automatically, or upload an anonymized ID document if you can't take a selfie. ID requests are reviewed manually. FaceCheck.ID says this takes 1–5 business days.
FaceCheck.ID says selected photos are hidden from new searches right away, and that verification photos and documents are deleted after approval. It also says it may refuse removal requests from people convicted of certain violent crimes.
Other routes
- The source site. Contact the website or report the photo on the platform. If you took the photo yourself, you own the copyright and can file a takedown. Our DMCA takedown guide explains how.
- Clearview AI. The ACLU settlement created an opt-out for Illinois residents. People in the EU and UK can use their GDPR access and erasure rights. Check Clearview's privacy page for the current request process where you live.
- Intimate or explicit images. Google has a separate process to remove real or fake sexual images of you from Search, including AI-generated ones. If you're under 18, or the image shows a minor, report it immediately.
Google's "Results about you" tool
"Results about you" doesn't remove photos of your face. It handles personal details that often appear next to them on people-search and data-broker sites. Google launched it in 2022 for phone numbers, home addresses, and email addresses. In February 2026, Google added driver's license, passport, and Social Security numbers, rolling out in the US first.
- In the Google app, tap your profile picture and select Results about you. On a computer, go to myactivity.google.com/results-about-you.
- Click Get started and add the contact details you want monitored. You'll be prompted to add ID numbers if the feature is available where you live.
- Review the results Google finds and request removal of the ones that show your information.
- Turn on notifications so Google tells you when new results with your details appear.
Removing a result from Google doesn't delete the page. You still need to opt out from the data broker or site directly. Our photo protection guide covers ways to reduce what ends up online in the first place.
Using face search responsibly
- Search yourself, not strangers. If you need to check someone you've met online, start with a regular reverse image search of their profile photos and ask them to video chat. Our romance scam guide lists safer checks.
- Treat every match as a lead, not a fact. Confirm with other evidence before acting on it.
- Never search children. Don't upload photos of children to any face search engine. Reviews report that FaceCheck.ID prohibits searches for minors.
- Think about what you upload. You're giving a biometric-capable service a clear photo of a face. Read the privacy policy and check how long uploads are kept.
- Know your local law. In some places, collecting or using someone's faceprint without consent can create legal liability.
Frequently asked questions
Is it legal to use PimEyes or FaceCheck.ID?
In most places, searching your own face is legal. Searching other people sits in a gray area that depends on where you and they live and what you do with the results. Laws such as Illinois's BIPA and the GDPR mainly regulate the companies that collect biometric data, but using results to stalk or harass someone is illegal almost everywhere.
Does opting out of PimEyes remove my photos from the internet?
No. It stops your face from appearing in PimEyes results. The original images stay on the websites that host them, and other services can still find them. Contact those sites, or use a copyright takedown if you own the photos.
Can Google Lens find someone from their face?
Not reliably. Google Lens is built to find copies of images and identify objects, products, and places, and it rarely links different photos of a private person. It works well when the exact photo has been posted elsewhere. That's why it's still useful for spotting stolen profile pictures.
Why do I have to upload my ID to opt out?
The services say they need to confirm that the person requesting removal is the person in the photos, so nobody can hide someone else's images. Follow their instructions to anonymize the document and cover everything that isn't required.
Will opting out stop new photos from appearing?
PimEyes says its opt-out blocks matching images in its results, but new photos posted online may behave differently, so search again occasionally. Google's "Results about you" can alert you to new results with your contact details, but it doesn't monitor photos.
Sources & further reading
- PimEyes: Opt-out request form
- FaceCheck.ID: Remove My Photos
- Google: Results about you adds government ID numbers (February 2026)
- UK ICO: What is special category data?
- EDPB: Dutch authority fines Clearview AI (2024)
- ACLU: ACLU v. Clearview AI case summary
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