Contrary to what many believe, it’s not entirely impossible to delete embarrassing content from the internet. However, it’s not that simple either. The entire web is a vast collection of information and media content, which can easily spread in a short amount of time.

For example, the spread of content on Facebook, more than other platforms, can be extremely fast, given the presence of millions of users. Even so, the data stored on Facebook is arguably the easiest information to remove as the social media’s Statement of Rights and Responsibilities state that the user’s copyright is respected. It means that any photo, video, post, comments, etc., that is uploaded by the user to the platform is tied with a revocable license.

Despite that, manually deleting data on the social media platform can be a daunting task, especially when the data is already re-uploaded by many users. Because of this major obstacle, how can a user remove embarrassing photos from the social media platform, let alone from the internet?

1. Send a DMCA take-down notice to the uploader

A Digital Millennium Copyright Act, or DMCA, notice is a formal request to the uploader to remove a material used without your permission. DMCA is a copyright law, which aims to protect digital ownership. If you believe that the copyright of the photo belongs to you, sending a take-down notice will give you a good chance of removing the photo. Additionally, you can have better results if the notice comes from a legal professional.

When an unsolicited photo of you was posted without your consent, you can easily file a complaint stating that the use is illegal. When you see your photo on a website, know that you have the right to ask the hosts to take it down. If they don’t comply, you can proceed with legal take-down procedures that will hold the website liable for copyright infringement.

In cases where the spread of the photo has become uncontrollable, manually deleting it from the internet is almost impossible. It could possibly take months or even years if you try to take down every single instance of that particular photo.

When this happens, it’s best to change your presence online and put more positive material on the internet. By doing this, anyone who might be searching for your name online will be more likely to see positive results instead of the embarrassing photo. 

While you can do this on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter, you could take an extra step of registering a domain name and uploading a few professional photos on the website. Doing so prompts the search results to come from your website and prevents your embarrassing photo from popping up.

When an embarrassing photo of you spreads all over the web, try to address it as soon as possible. That will give you better chances of taking the photo down from various websites. The last thing you want is for the photo to spread uncontrollably, in which case, you have to rely on covering it up rather than actually deleting it.
We offer page removal and content removal services online ! Get in touch with us today for our expertise in content removal service and remove your embarrassing photos right away!