Having your mugshot online could cause irreparable damage to your online and offline reputation. In turn, that can negatively impact your relationships and interactions with other people, as well as your job prospects.
Luckily, there are ways to get your mugshot off the internet, such as contacting website owners or using a data removal service. We’ll cover all the things you can try more in-depth below.
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How to Remove Mugshots From the Internet (7 Methods)
Unfortunately, getting your mugshot off the web isn’t a straightforward opt-out process. There are different things you can try, and some of them are pretty time-consuming, while others cost money. According to our research, here’s what you can try:
1. Contact the Sites That Post Your Mugshot
The best place to start is the websites that host and share your mugshots. Use Google and other search engines to look up your name, preferably without the word “arrest” next to it. Go through all the search results, and make a list of all the sites you need to contact.
After that, access each site and find its contact information. It could be on its dedicated “Contact” or “About” page, or this information could be found in the privacy policy or terms of service. You could also try using a domain lookup tool (like whois.com, for example) to find information about the site domain ownership. If you still can’t find any contact details, try contacting the site’s hosting company as a last resort.
Then, contact the site owner or admin and politely ask them to remove your mugshot from the site. We recommend adding any information you can to provide context to your mugshot removal request. If you have any legal documents you can share (like a document that confirms that you have expunged your record).
FYI: Some sites might ask you for money in exchange for removing your mugshot. Depending on which state you live in, this might be illegal. For example, Florida law states that individuals or websites that receive mugshot removal requests must comply with them, and also refrain from republishing the mugshots.
2. Ask Google to Remove Outdated Mugshots
Maybe you already contacted various websites, and got the owners or admins to take down your mugshot. Unfortunately, the mugshot could still be displayed in Google’s search results — maybe for a few more days or weeks, or even months. That’s because the mugshot might still be cached (saved, essentially) on Google’s servers.
In this case, you should send Google a request to remove outdated content (the mugshots that got removed).
Before you do anything, make sure you find the mugshot in the search results. Next, copy the image link, or the link of the webpage that hosts the image. Then, type in “g.co/Search/Remove-outdated-content” in your browser’s address bar.
This will open up the form for Google’s outdated content request tool. Just click “New request,” and select the first option: “To refresh Google’s outdated result for a webpage that has changed.”
On the next window, you’ll need to pick between adding a request for a webpage or an image. For a webpage, you only need to copy-paste the page link and click “Submit.”
For an image, you have two options. You can either enter the image link, and the link of the page the image is on. Alternatively, you can just copy-paste the link of the image that’s displayed in Google’s image search results. When you’re done, click “Submit.”
Once submitted, you’ll be able to view the status of your request. Check back regularly to see if it’s approved. If it isn’t, Google will provide you with an explanation why.
3. Remove Your Mugshot From Mugshot Websites
There are many websites that focus solely on publishing mugshots and other information about police incidents and arrests related to it. Popular sites include Mugshots.com and Arrests.org.
On many of these sites, you can look up your mugshot, and ask to have it removed via an “opt-out” or “record removal” option. You’ll usually be asked to provide a reason for asking for the removal, and also proof (for example, an expungement order). You’ll normally need to add your email, where you’ll be sent the removal information.
FYI: How long it takes to remove a mugshot depends on the site’s terms of service. Some websites remove it immediately after you confirm the request, while others might take up to 90 days to update the record.
4. Remove Your Mugshot From Your Local Police Department Site
If your mugshot has been published on your local police department’s website, you can ask for it to be removed. How you do this depends on the police department—you might have to use a contact form, send them an email, or enquire by phone or postal mail.
5. Dilute the Search Results to “Bury” the Mugshot
Basically, this means you need to create new content that outranks the content that displays your mugshot. It has to be quality content, though, and it needs to match the keywords that people would normally use to google you.
We read through multiple threads on Reddit and Quora to see if this method really works, and how people handle it. According to most posts, it is possible to “bury” your mugshot this way, which basically means having it bumped off the first search results page.
Most users who did this say they created websites and blog posts targeting keywords related to them. Others mentioned that getting positive mentions on high-authority media sites helps too.
That said, the above methods are very time-consuming. An alternative would be to just create social media profiles on popular platforms, like TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, X, LinkedIn, and Pinterest. Just make sure to use your full name, and set the profile to public.
FYI: There are also online reputation management services that can handle all of the above for you. It saves you time, but keep in mind that they’re pretty expensive. We saw one Reddit user say that using an online reputation management platform would cost them up to $15,000.
6. Use a Data Removal Service
A data removal service is an online platform that removes your personal information from data broker websites. Some data removal services can remove mugshots, in addition to other sensitive personal information that’s hosted on people-search sites, like data about past arrests and convictions, police records, and criminal records. In addition, they can also get other personal data off the web that can compromise your privacy, like your home address, phone number, and the name of your relatives.
If you’d like a recommendation, we suggest checking out DeleteMe. It specifically says it removes mugshots from the web, and it also gets your personal information off over 750 data broker sites. If you’d like to read more about this service, check out our hands-on DeleteMe review.
>> Read More: The 3 Best Data Removal Services of 2025
7. Expunge Your Criminal Record
Expungement means removing all records pertaining to a case related to you removed from your public criminal record. This means that any mugshot linked to an arrest or conviction will be deleted, so it shouldn’t show up on the web anymore.
The process is a bit complicated and time-consuming. First, it needs to be determined that you’re eligible for a criminal record expungement. After that, you must file a petition with the court that heard your original case. You then have to wait for the process to finish, and also hope that you’ll receive a favorable verdict. If you work with a lawyer, it could also cost you anywhere between a few hundred or thousand dollars, depending on the lawyer’s fees.
FYI: Even if you get your record expunged, this doesn’t guarantee that your mugshot will disappear from all websites. You might still come across it online, in which case you’ll have to contact the site owner and ask them to remove the mugshot (and also provide proof that your record has been expunged).
Why Should You Remove Mugshots From the Internet?
A mugshot can seriously damage your reputation, both online and offline. Yes, even if the charges against you were dropped, or if you weren’t found guilty of any criminal offenses. People who come across the mugshot will likely automatically assume that you’re a criminal.
Having your mugshot online could harm your personal relationship with anyone new you meet. It could also lead to inaccurate background checks, costing you employment opportunities. What’s more, if you’re a business owner, having your mugshot online could negatively impact your sales.
How Did Your Mugshot End Up Online?
This mainly happens because your mugshot is considered part of a public record, which anyone can access. So, anyone could find your mugshot in public records, download or copy it, and upload it on other channels, like social media for example.
Data brokers also use automated search tools to scrape personal information about you off the internet—and this includes your mugshot. They then upload all of that data to people-search sites, including mugshot lookup websites.
And once your mugshot is uploaded on different platforms, Google will eventually pick up on it. Once it indexes pages that include your mugshot, it will start appearing in search results too.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Do you have to pay to remove mugshots off the web?
Some websites (like mugshot lookup sites) might charge you for removing the mugshot. However, depending on your state’s laws, this could be illegal.
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Can you automate removing mugshots from the internet?
Yes, if you use a data removal service, which automatically removes your personal data from the web. DeleteMe, for example, says it can remove your mugshots, alongside other personal information.
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How do you remove mugshots from Google?
You have to contact the owners of the site that publishes your mugshots and ask them to remove it. Alternatively, you could use a data removal service (like DeleteMe) to automate the removal process.
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Do I need a reputation management service to get my mugshot off the web?
These services can help, but they’re often very expensive. It’s cheaper to use an automated data removal service instead, like DeleteMe.