Copyright
Copyright and DMCA requests
If you own the copyright in a photo that appears in FaceSearch results, you can ask us to remove that result with a DMCA notice. This page lists what to include, where to send it, what we do with it, and the counter-notice route. If you are the person in the photo rather than its owner, use the removal page instead.
First search free. No account needed. Updated November 6, 2026 by The FaceSearch Team.
Who can send a DMCA notice
A DMCA notice comes from the copyright owner or someone authorised to act for them. For a photograph that is usually the photographer, the studio that employed them, or an agency that holds the licence. Being the person in the photo does not by itself make you the owner; a selfie is yours, a photo a friend took of you is theirs. If you are in the photo and want it out of our results, you do not need a copyright claim at all: the removal page covers that, for free, with one email.
If you represent a photographer, a brand or a creator, say so in the notice and name who you act for. We treat notices from agents the same way as notices from owners, as long as the authorisation is stated.
What the notice must include
- Identification of the work. A copy of the photo, or a link to where you published it, and a sentence saying that you own it or act for the owner.
- The FaceSearch result and the source page. The URL of the FaceSearch result you want removed and the URL of the public page where the image was found. Both appear on the result; the source link is unlocked on paid plans and visible on the Free plan for the top results.
- Your contact details. Name, email address and, if you have one, a postal address, so we can reply and so the other side can reach you if they dispute the notice.
- A good-faith statement. That you believe in good faith the use of the work is not authorised by the owner, an agent of the owner, or the law.
- An accuracy statement. That the information in the notice is accurate and, under penalty of perjury, that you are the owner or authorised to act for the owner.
- A signature. A typed full name counts as an electronic signature.
Where to send it
Email the notice to contact@facesearch.cc with the subject line "DMCA". Plain text in the body of the email is fine; attachments are fine too. One notice can list several results as long as each one names the work, the result URL and the source URL. We reply from the same address.
What FaceSearch can and cannot do
| Request | Can we do it? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Remove the result from FaceSearch | Yes | We drop the matched image from our index so it stops appearing in searches. |
| Remove the photo from the website it is on | No | We do not host the page. Ask the site owner or their host; the takedown guide shows how. |
| Stop the same image from matching again | Mostly | We remove the index entries we can find for that image. A fresh copy on a new page can be indexed later; tell us and we remove it too. |
| Remove other photos of the same person | Only through removal | Copyright covers the specific photo. The person in the photo can ask for a full removal on the removal page. |
| Tell you who published the photo | No | The source URL is already on the result. We hold nothing more about the publisher. |
What happens after you send it
We acknowledge it
You get a reply confirming we have the notice and, if anything is missing from the list above, what we need before we can act.
We check the notice
We confirm the result exists, that the notice names a specific work and a specific URL, and that the statements and signature are present. We do not judge who is right about the copyright; a complete notice is enough to act.
We remove the result
The matched image is removed from the FaceSearch index. We aim to do this within five business days of a complete notice, usually sooner.
We confirm by email
You get a second email when the removal is in place. Results come from third-party public pages, so there is no uploader on FaceSearch to notify; if the owner of the source page contacts us, the counter-notice route below applies.
Counter-notices
If you run the website whose page was removed from our index and you believe the notice was mistaken, you can send a counter-notice to the same address. It needs the URL that was removed, a statement under penalty of perjury that you believe in good faith the removal was a mistake or misidentification, your name, address and contact details, consent to the jurisdiction of your local federal court (or the courts where FaceSearch can be sued if you are outside the United States), and a signature. We forward the counter-notice to the person who sent the original notice. If we are not told within ten business days that they have filed a court action, we may restore the result.
Misuse of the process
A notice that knowingly misrepresents ownership or infringement can make the sender liable for the other side's costs under section 512(f) of the DMCA. We keep every notice we receive. Repeated notices that turn out to be false, or notices sent to suppress a page the sender simply dislikes, are ignored and may be reported. If you are unsure whether you own the rights, ask a lawyer before you send one; if you are the person in the photo, you do not need one.
Questions
01I am the person in the photo. Should I send a DMCA notice?
Usually not. Being in a photo does not make you its copyright owner unless you took it yourself. You do not need a copyright claim to get your face out of FaceSearch results: the removal page handles that for free, with one email and no legal statements.
02Does a DMCA notice delete the photo from the internet?
No. It removes the matched image from the FaceSearch index, so it stops appearing in our results. The photo stays on the website that published it until that site or its host takes it down. The takedown guide explains how to ask them.
03How long does it take?
We aim to remove the result within five business days of receiving a complete notice, and most are handled sooner. If a notice is missing one of the required elements we reply and ask for it, which restarts the clock.
04Do you need a copy of my ID?
No. A DMCA notice needs the elements listed on this page, including the statements and a signature, but not identity documents. We may ask for proof of ownership, such as the original file or the page where you first published the work, if the claim is disputed.
05What if my notice is incomplete?
We reply and tell you exactly which element is missing. Nothing is removed until the notice is complete, because an incomplete notice does not meet the legal standard and could be challenged by the other side.
06Can the website owner dispute the removal?
Yes. The owner of the source page can send a counter-notice with the elements described above. We forward it to you, and if we are not told within ten business days that you have filed a court action we may restore the result.
Related pages
- Remove my photosHide your face from FaceSearch results for free, by email, with a confirmation when it is done.
- Getting a photo taken downSite owner, DMCA, Google removal, StopNCII or platform report: which route fits, what to send, and how long each takes.
- Remove your photos from the internetSite owners, DMCA, Google removals, StopNCII, data brokers and face search opt-outs, with how long each takes.
- For models and photographersFind portfolio and shoot images reposted without credit or stolen for fake profiles, then use copyright to get them down.
- Acceptable useThe uses FaceSearch is built for, the uses that are banned, and how we enforce the line.
- Report misuseWhat to send when someone uses FaceSearch to stalk, harass or profile a person, and what we do about it.
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