Reference, not advice
Everything about face search, in one place
Engines, laws, cases, terms and opt-out routes, written in a neutral voice with a source and a date on every claim. Published by the makers of FaceSearch, covering every engine including their own.
Start with the question you have
- My photo is somewhere it should not be Which engines index it, how each opt-out works, and the removal routes by country.
- Is face search legal where I live? Biometric and data-protection laws by jurisdiction, with what each one changes.
- How does a face search actually work? From a photo to a ranked match, and where the technique fails.
- What did the regulators decide? Every Clearview and PimEyes decision, with amounts, dates and status.
What is in the wiki
- Engines Every face and image search engine, in one format: what it indexes, what it costs, how to opt out. 20 entries
- Laws Biometric, data-protection and image-abuse laws by country and US state, with what each one changes for face search. 16 entries
- Cases Regulator decisions and court rulings on face search engines and biometric data. 16 entries
- Glossary Plain definitions of the terms used in face search, privacy and image law. 32 entries
- Concepts How the technology works, from a photo to a match, and where it fails. 8 entries
- Organisations Regulators, courts, research bodies, help lines and advocacy groups that shape the field. 12 entries
- Directories Hand-built tables: opt-out routes, report forms, removal routes and help lines. 4 entries
- Timeline Face recognition and face search from the first experiments to today, event by event. 43 entries
Most referenced entries
- Directory Opt-out routes for every face search engine Opt-out routes for 20 face and image search engines side by side: form or email, verification asked for, stated timeline, cost and link. Checked Nov 6, 2026.
- Engine PimEyes PimEyes, the best-known face search engine: what it indexes, what the free search shows, plan prices, how the opt-out works, and the regulator actions against it.
- Law Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) Illinois BIPA (740 ILCS 14): consent before collecting face geometry, a private right of action, $1,000 to $5,000 per violation, the 2024 amendment, and face search.
- Case Information Commissioner v Clearview AI (United Kingdom) ICO v Clearview AI: the GBP 7.5 million fine, the 2023 tribunal loss, the October 2025 Upper Tribunal judgment, and the Court of Appeal stage pending in 2026.
- Concept How a face search works The face search pipeline step by step: detection, alignment, embedding, index lookup, ranking and source pages, with the limits at each stage.
- Term Reverse face search Reverse face search defined: a query by face rather than by image file, how it differs from reverse image search, what a result contains, and which engines offer it.
Recently updated
Full changelog- ACLU v Clearview AI (Illinois BIPA settlement) Case · November 6, 2026
- Baden-Wurttemberg data protection authority v PimEyes (Germany) Case · November 6, 2026
- PimEyes: Belgian and Hamburg regulators and the noyb lawsuit Case · November 6, 2026
- CNIL v Clearview AI (France) Case · November 6, 2026
- Cothron v. White Castle System, Inc. Case · November 6, 2026
- Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens v Clearview AI (Netherlands) Case · November 6, 2026