How to remove yourself from PimEyes

PimEyes is a face search engine that indexes faces from public web pages and lets anyone search them by uploading a photo. Its opt-out is a form that asks PimEyes to block your face from appearing in search results. It is free, it does not require an account, and as of November 2026 it has three steps. This guide follows the live form. PimEyes can change it at any time, so if a step looks different, follow the form and use this page for what each step means.

What does the PimEyes opt-out actually do?

PimEyes says the form lets you exercise your right to have your data removed from its system. In practice it works as a block: PimEyes uses the face photo you upload to find images linked to its stored face fingerprints and stops showing those matches in future searches. PimEyes states that the uploaded photo is not included in future results and is not used beyond processing the request and an ongoing legal obligation, and that the only data it stores are face fingerprints of photos found on publicly available websites. It explicitly says it is not liable for the origin of a photo and cannot remove it from the website where it appears.

What do you need before you start?

• Clear photos of your face. PimEyes recommends several photos showing different angles, which improves the chance that every indexed match is caught. Use well-lit, front-facing and three-quarter views without sunglasses.
• An anonymised scan of an ID or passport. PimEyes links a redaction guide from the form. Its example blacks out every field except the photo and the name. Redact the document number, date of birth, address, signature and any machine-readable code before you upload.
• An email address you can access, for the confirmation of the result.
• You must be over 18. One of the consent boxes asks you to confirm this. The form offers no route for parents acting for a child; use the contact details in PimEyes's privacy policy for that.

How do you fill in the form?

1. 1

   Open the opt-out form

   Go to pimeyes.com/en/opt-out. Read the short notice on how the request is processed; it states what the uploaded photo will and will not be used for.

2. 2

   Upload your face photo and tick three boxes

   Upload one or more clear photos. Tick the boxes agreeing that the photo may be used to block images of you in search results, that you have read the privacy policy and terms, and that you are over 18. Click Next step.

3. 3

   Upload the anonymised ID and tick two boxes

   Upload the redacted scan. Tick the boxes confirming that the scan contains no sensitive data and has been anonymised as instructed, and consenting to the blocking of images of you in pimeyes.com results. Click Next step.

4. 4

   Enter your email and submit

   Enter your email address, tick the box agreeing to be notified about the result, and click Submit. Keep the confirmation email; it is your record if matches reappear.

5. 5

   Check the result

   After PimEyes confirms the block, run a search of your own face on PimEyes to confirm that your matches no longer appear. If some do, reply to the confirmation with the missed photos; different angles often need a second pass.

What happens after you submit?

The form states no processing time. People who have gone through it commonly report a confirmation within days, with occasional requests for a clearer photo or a better-redacted document. The block applies to pimeyes.com results. It does not delete the source photos, notify the sites that host them, or stop new photos of you from being indexed in future; a new photo that PimEyes fingerprints later should be caught by the block if your face is recognised, but there is no stated commitment, so a periodic self-search remains sensible.

What about PimEyes's paid takedown service?

PimEyes also sells subscriptions. Its pricing page on 5 November 2026 listed a free tier of 10 searches a day, and three paid tiers: Open Plus (up to 75 searches a day and up to 10 alerts), PROtect (up to 125 searches a day, up to 20 alerts, and a takedown allowance of 200, with a takedown-agent add-on) and Advanced (unlimited searches, 500 alerts, deep search and 1,000 takedowns). The page did not display prices to a visitor who was not signed in; third-party reviews in 2026 quoted Open Plus at $29.99 a month and PROtect at $79.99 a month, which we could not confirm on the page. The takedown service sends removal requests to the websites hosting your photos on your behalf. It is a separate product from the free opt-out, and you do not need it to be removed from PimEyes results.

Is the PimEyes opt-out a legal right?

In the EU and UK, yes: the right to erasure and the right to object under the GDPR apply to a company processing your biometric data, wherever it is based, if it serves people there. Enforcement against PimEyes has been difficult because the company has no EU establishment; the Hamburg data protection authority concluded in November 2025 that PimEyes acted unlawfully but took no corrective action, and noyb sued the authority over that inaction in April 2026. The practical effect is that the voluntary form is the route that works today. The wider picture is on is face search legal.

How does this apply to FaceSearch?

FaceSearch is a competing face search engine, and this guide exists because removal only works engine by engine. Our own opt-out is free and runs by email: send a clear photo of your face and your contact email to contact@facesearch.cc and we exclude matching faces from our results and confirm when it is done; no ID is needed unless a request is disputed. The full process is on remove my photos. If you are deciding between engines for your own self-searches, the PimEyes comparison sets both out side by side.