Protect your sensitive information online with our “how to get mugshot off Google” guide.
When someone finds themselves in trouble with the law, police officers and other law enforcement officials must follow protocol when detaining the individual. This includes taking mugshot photos that will go in the person’s file. These images will also be published online for the public to access.
Once a law enforcement agency posts a person’s name and mugshot online, along with other arrest information, mugshot websites pick up that information and add it to their databases.
That means that anyone with an internet connection can find your sensitive information. A simple online search will bring up your mugshot image and arrest records.
While you can always make an image removal request, websites don’t often comply.
In this article, we’ll discuss the mugshot removal process and explain how to remove your booking photo from mugshot websites and Google search results.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed and want to speak with a content removal expert about clearing your name with mugshot removal, call us at
(844) 458-6735
for a free consultation.
How Did My Mugshot and Arrest Records End Up Online?
In the U.S., mugshots are part of the public record, meaning anyone can access them. Other arrest and criminal details, including arrest records, may also be in the public domain. That means that it’s perfectly legal to post this type of information online and for other websites to collect that data and repost it.
Making this information public isn’t new. Before the dawn of the internet, you could visit a police station in person and ask to see a mugshot on file.
Today, though, it’s much easier for anyone with an internet-connected device to find this information. And since so many sites post online arrest records, mugshot removal is trickier, too.
Around 2005, mugshot websites started to appear online. They began hosting online arrest records and criminal information about individuals. Whether a person committed a minor offense or had a hefty criminal record, that data can now be found online by anybody.
Aside from providing public record information to whoever wants to find it, mugshot sites benefit by bringing in a lot of traffic. Gossip and unflattering news, especially about celebrities and other VIPs, is a big traffic generator. There’s a lot of motivation for mugshot site owners to continue posting new content.
Unfortunately, mugshot sites don’t filter out individuals who were charged but not convicted or those who were wrongfully accused of a crime. Making outdated or incorrect information available to the public can harm a person’s digital reputation. This can make it difficult for them to find a home or a job.
To speak with an expert in mugshot removal and to learn more about mugshot removal laws, call us today at
(844) 458-6735
.
Why Do People Want To Find Mugshots Online?
Often, people want to search for mugshots, criminal records and similar information when they’re vetting a person for a job or a housing decision. Employers may not want to hire a person with an arrest record or criminal past. The same goes for landlords or mortgage lenders who are deciding whether or not to approve a person’s housing request.
Unfortunately, while public record information can help people make hiring and housing decisions, those who have their data posted online can have a difficult time moving forward in their lives. That’s why it’s so important to have your mugshot removed from online sources.
Our next section will cover the steps needed for mugshot removal from Google Search and third-party mugshot hosting sites.
You can take the first step toward restoring your online reputation right now by calling us at
(844) 458-6735
for a personalized mugshot removal action plan.
How to Remove Arrest Records and Mugshots Online
There are several steps that you can take to remove arrest records online and have your mugshot removed from the internet.
Before you engage in removing these details by yourself, though, we want to let you know that mugshot removal might be a long and tiresome process. It’s common for people to want professional assistance with mugshot removal. Call us at
(844) 458-6735
to discuss your options, and read on to learn about the DIY solution to mugshot removal, too.
Here are the basic steps to removing your mugshot online.
Contact the Site Owner To Have Your Mugshot Removed
The first step to having your mugshot removed from a data broker website is contacting the website owner.
Explain why you want your mugshot removed, and provide a link that goes directly to your information on the website. With a compelling enough reason, they may agree to take down your mugshot and arrest record within a matter of hours or days.
Are you unsure of how to make your mugshot removal case to the website owner? Check out their Terms and Conditions first. The website may clearly state when it’ll remove mugshots and other personal information from its database.
Contact Google or other Search Engines for Mugshot Removal
Another way of removing police reports and mugshots from the internet is by contacting Google and any other search engines where your info appears. If you have a compelling reason for Google Search to remove your mugshot or arrest record, like a court order, they’re likely to delete your information from search results.
Most of the time, search engines have a legal obligation to remove your data if you were wrongly convicted or if you were the victim of identity theft, resulting in your mugshot appearing online.
However, you won’t be able to remove a mugshot from results simply because it’s embarrassing or you want to protect your online reputation. You must be able to demonstrate that your data appearing online violates the search engine’s policies.
Hire Professional Mugshot Removal Services
Is having your arrest record or mugshot online causing damage to your online reputation and personal or professional life? Consider contacting a mugshot removal service.
Experts in mugshot removal already have connections with mugshot site owners. This makes it more likely that they can have your data removed versus trying to do it on your own.
Additionally, these experts are well-versed in search engine policies. Experts who offer mugshot removal services can present your case to search engines to have the highest likelihood that your data will be removed from results.
While you’ll be charged to have your mugshot removed, it’s often worth the cost to save your online reputation. This improves your chances of getting job, housing and personal opportunities moving forward.
To learn more about online content removal, give our experts a call at
(844) 458-6735
for a free consultation.
Should You Use an Expungement Court Order To Remove Your Mugshot?
An expungement is a legal process that removes arrest information and other conviction information from an individual’s record. The goal is to make it seem like the situation never occurred.
If you have an expunged record, your data should no longer appear online. Showing mugshot website owners and search engine personnel the expungement order should be enough for them to agree to remove your information from their databases.
Unfortunately, even with an expungement court order, some site owners simply won’t comply. And even if they say they’ll remove your information, there’s no guarantee that they’ll follow through.
In this case, you may want to hire a lawyer or work with a content removal agency. Call us today at
(844) 458-6735
to discuss your options for removing booking photos.
What You Should Know About Removing Mugshots from Google Search
If a law enforcement agency or mugshot site has posted your personal information, including your mugshot image, it will appear in search engine results for your name.
A professional mugshot removal service will attempt to have website owners take down your information. They’ll also try to deindex the link from search results.
Deindexing means removing the link from Google so that the information does not appear in search results for your name. This can be done whether or not the information is removed from the source.
For example, let’s say you contact a mugshot website and ask that they take down your personal information. They don’t agree to do so, and your mugshot remains published online.
By deindexing the link to your mugshot on the site, the mugshot will no longer appear in Google search results, even though it still exists online. Unless a person has the direct link to where your mugshot appears, they won’t be able to get there since it will no longer appear in search engine results.
Your first step should always be contacting the source of the information online. In other words, contact the site that has posted your mugshot. Google doesn’t create or control online content. It only collects and organizes it to provide relevant search results to users.
After contacting the website owner, you can contact Google to ask if they will remove the article from its search results.
The timeframe for article removal varies from case to case. Whereas some instances take only a few weeks to finish, others may take a number of months.
When you have to request and procure additional data or documentation, this will add to the general processing time. Most circumstances, however, are resolved within three months. After that, check to see if your mugshot appears in search results.
Do I Need a Removal Service to Take Down My Arrest Records?
To avoid the time, energy and expertise it takes to remove your criminal records and mugshot images from the internet, we recommend hiring a professional service to do it for you.
Content removal experts specialize in the beginning-to-end, step-by-step process and have handled a lot of similar cases in the past. In many cases, mugshot removal websites work directly with mugshot websites to get embarrassing arrest photos taken down quickly.
Plus, if you want to remove other types of personal information and public records from the web, you’ll be able to get help with that, too.
Professional Content Removal Services for Online Mugshots
Removing your mugshot images from search results clears your name, preserves your integrity, and rebuilds your online reputation.
As long as your charge was for a minor offense, it’s relatively easy to remove your mugshot images and other arrest information online.
However, if your criminal history includes the following, it’s much harder to have the content removed. In these cases, content suppression for online mugshots may be the best option:
- Murder
- Sexual offenses
- Domestic violence
Are you wondering if your mugshot and arrest information can be removed online? Are you ready to start the process of repairing your reputation with booking photo removal? Get in touch with our team today.
Call us at
(844) 458-6735
for a free consultation with a public records and mugshot removal expert.