Expert guidance for removing—or burying—unflattering images online

Sometime negative search results come in photo form.

Most often, undesirable images cannot be removed from the internet. When unflattering photos are removed, it’s usually directly done by the publisher of the blog post, mugshot site or article.

Google will remove images from search results under certain circumstances, but it is rare.

If you’re keen to make an unbecoming, embarrassing or distasteful picture disappear—or at least plummet in internet search rankings—take these six steps:

1. Create a better image to replace the undesirable one.

Think about what sort of image people might click on, and make sure it’s compelling enough to supersede the unflattering image you’re trying to bury.

Remember, search engines provide the images, but people judge them. Images with better lighting and formatting—or even pictures that are somehow jarring, intriguing or surprising—can make enough of a difference that people will click on it instead of the undesirable one.