How face search is different

Google’s reverse image search looks for copies of the exact image you upload. Face-search engines like PimEyes and FaceCheck.ID are different: they recognize the face. Give them one photo and they return other photos of the same person — different angles, different years, different outfits — even ones you’ve never seen. That’s what turns a single profile picture into a thread someone can pull to unravel your whole identity.

How to check if you’re exposed

The honest way to find out is to do exactly what someone else would: take a clear, recent photo of your face and run it through the face-search engines yourself.

Search your face on PimEyes — it will show whether matches exist (seeing the full results may require a paid plan, but the count tells you enough).
Do the same on FaceCheck.ID.
If either returns matches, your face is indexed — meaning a stranger with your photo can find the rest.

What you can do about it

You have two options:

Do it yourself, free. Both engines have opt-out forms (you upload your photo and a redacted ID, then wait a few weeks). See our PimEyes opt-out guide for the exact steps.
Have us do it. If you’d rather not deal with the ID uploads and per-engine follow-up, we file every opt-out for you across PimEyes and FaceCheck.ID for a one-time $49.

Either way, the point is the same: opting out de-lists you from the engines, so your face stops being a shortcut to your identity. It won’t erase every photo of you online — but it closes the door that strangers actually use.