On Wednesday Google has rolled out a feature it first announced in August. Minors, or their parents, can now request their photos be removed from Google Search.
Google Search Photo Removal
On its support page, Google says the images must meet all of these requirements:
- The URLs submitted are image URLs. Web URLs (pages with both text and images) are not eligible for removal under this policy, which seeks to limit the presence of images in Google search results.
- The imagery includes an identifiable individual who is currently under the age of 18.
We’ll also remove images in the tragic situation of a child who has died before reaching the age of 18. - The removal requestor is either the individual themself, a legal guardian for the individual, or an authorized representative of either.
Google further says “We take public interest and newsworthiness into account when determining if content will be removed. In other cases, we may balance affected individual preference with public interest and limit our removal to queries which include identifying terms, such as the name of the individual under 18, name of the parent, and aliases.”
Additionally, the company reminds interested parties that these images are only removed from Google Search. To remove them from the web entirely requires contacting the website(s).