How to Remove Your Mugshot From Google (for Free)

December 30, 2020 Arrest Records | information removal | Mugshot Removal | remove mugshot

So, you’ve found yourself in the unenviable position of having your mugshot posted online and it appearing on Google. Keen to remedy the issue before it affects your reputation? You turn to the internet only to find that removing your mugshot can be a costly affair. Can you remove your mugshot from Google for free?

Limited by budget constraints or just generally budget conscious? Prefer to address the matter at no cost to yourself? There’s good news no matter what your situation. It’s possible when you learn how to remove your mugshot from Google (for free).

Various approaches exist. You can reach out to website owners, providing evidence of dismissal or expungement. You can submit a request directly to Google. And you can suppress your mugshot with newer, more relevant content.

What site is your mugshot on? Mugshots.com, MugshotsOnline.com, CampusMugshots.com, BustedMugshots.com, BustedNewspaper.com, Rapsheets.org, JailBase.com? Or another of the various mugshot websites currently littering the internet? The steps to remove your mugshot from Google are largely the same regardless of site.

Getting started

Having searched for ‘how to remove mugshot from google free,’ you need to discover where your mugshot appears.

Yes, it’s likely being displayed on Google, Yahoo, Bing, and other search engines, but to appear here, it needs to be posted on one or more other websites in the first place. It’s important to identify these websites at the outset.

Your mugshot may appear on just one website, or it may appear on dozens. However, with a list of offending websites now in hand, you’re ready to start the process of applying what you’re learning on how to remove your mugshot from Google for free.

Method #1: Politely reach out to the website or websites in question

The overwhelming majority of mugshot websites are out to make money. Some do this by displaying advertising, and other, more unscrupulous operators do so by charging those who’ve had their mugshots publicly posted to take them down.

In any case, contrary to popular belief, a reasonable number of these websites will remove a person’s mugshot when asked politely.

Various new laws have been established recently to protect the public from extortionist mugshot website owners. In certain states, the owners of such websites are now prohibited by law from charging for removal, and must remove mugshot images and arrest records whenever they’re asked.

As the old saying goes, “If you don’t ask, you don’t get.”

Remember to be polite when asking for your mugshot to be removed as many websites are still under no obligation by law, but may oblige when asked nicely.

Method #2: Provide a copy of your dismissal or expungement documents

Further to simply asking for your mugshot to be removed, you can go one step further by presenting a copy of your dismissal or expungement documents.

Of course, this relies on you having had your case dismissed or expunged, but if you have, this certainly strengthens your position in seeking removal of your mugshot from any website that’s publicly displaying it.

Again, be polite, as while some website owners will now be required under law to remove your mugshot having presented your dismissal or expungement, it’ll remain a discretionary decision for others, even with this documentation.

Method #3: Submit a request directly to Google

If you need to remove personal information or content with legal issues, Google’s team will listen to your case.

This is very often hit-and-miss, though. Google themselves report that only a small number of requests are even considered for removal, and of those, fewer than half are ever actioned.

However, the search engine giant is keen to stress that when an individual sees content on a Google product that they believe violates either the law or their rights, they’ll review the material and consider blocking, limiting, or removing access to it.

Particularly if you’re in a state where it’s now illegal to ask for a fee to have a mugshot removed from a website, or if you’ve had your case dismissed or expunged and a website still refuses to remove it, consider reaching out to Google for help.

Method #4: Suppression

 

If you’ve been unsuccessful in asking politely, submitting your dismissal or expungement documents, or speaking to Google, opting to suppress your mugshot rather than seeking to remove it might be your best option.

This is a particularly valuable tactic if you’ve been unable to have your case dismissed or expunged, and is one of the methods used by mugshot removal specialists to tackle problematic mugshot images and combat other harmful content appearing online.

Suppressing your mugshot ultimately involves replacing it within Google’s search results with newer, more relevant content. By maintaining an up-to-date Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, LinkedIn, Tumblr, and Instagram account, when searching for your name on Google, content from these websites should be newer and more relevant than the page or pages displaying your mugshot.

Accordingly, links to these accounts should appear atop the search results instead. Similarly, images from these websites should also out-rank your mugshot, pushing it further and further down in the results until it’s not visible on the first page.

Additional content can also be created and uploaded to a standalone website on a platform such as WordPress to further bolster your chances of succeeding in suppressing your mugshot and any corresponding arrest information within Google’s search results.

The primary aim is to push any unwanted results onto page two, where they’re much less noticeable. From there, you can then continue with your suppression efforts until your mugshot—and any other information that you’d rather not be immediately visible—is pushed back to page three, four, five, or beyond. At this point, it’ll rarely see the light of day again.

For this to be successful, be sure to post plenty of photos on whichever platforms you choose, and make sure they’re public, otherwise they won’t appear on Google. This means not having a private Instagram or a ‘friends only’ Facebook account.

If you’re concerned about sharing content from existing accounts, create new ones in your name solely for the purpose of your suppression efforts, but remember that these need to be updated as often—if not more often—than any other private accounts you may hold.

Frequently asked questions about how to remove your mugshot from Google (for free)

How long do mugshots stay online?
Indefinitely. Most of the websites in the business of publicly sharing individuals’ mugshots will continue to display them until steps are taken to have them removed.

Can I remove my mugshot from the internet without a lawyer?
Yes. None of the methods proposed here require a lawyer’s help unless you seek legal assistance in the process of having your case dismissed or expunged.

Is it legal for websites to post my mugshot online before going to court for the crime?
Yes.

…and then to charge a fee to remove it?

In many states, yes. In certain states, however, including Tennessee, Florida, and Texas, the act of charging a fee to remove a mugshot is now illegal. Here, it should be possible to have your mugshot removed by request, free of charge.

How do I remove my mugshot from Google Images?
If your mugshot has been published online, it’ll likely be among the first results on Google Images when searching for your name. All of the outlined approaches aimed at removing details of your arrest from Google’s text results will, if performed correctly, also see your mugshot removed from the pages of Google Images at the same time or shortly thereafter.

How do mugshots end up in Google searches in the first place?
Google looks at the overwhelming majority of websites on the internet on an almost constant basis. When new content is published, such as on public records databases in North Carolina and nearly every other state, Google adds it to its search results. Posted alongside your personal details, this means that your mugshot will often be displayed in Google’s listings when searching for your name.

Can mugshots ever truly be removed from the internet?
Yes. When the necessary steps are taken, there’s no reason that your mugshot should reappear on Google or elsewhere.

Will a newspaper remove my mugshot from their website?

The same rules apply to newspapers’ websites as those in the business solely of publishing mugshots and arrest records. Reach out, contact Google, or aim to suppress results displayed on these websites, and you’ll yield the same results.

Are mugshots ever deleted if a case is dismissed?

Mugshots appear online at the point of arrest or shortly after. Whatever happens subsequently, it’s invariably too late as the mugshot is already online. Where a case is dismissed, however, you should have a particularly strong argument for requesting the removal of your mugshot from any offending website.

Beyond reaching out, contacting Google, or aiming to suppress results, are there any other ways to remove mugshots from the internet?
Yes. Remember that you can always get in touch with professionals who specialize in the process for help if you’ve been unsuccessful in your own efforts.

How much does it cost to pay to get a mugshot removed?
Never pay unscrupulous mugshot websites directly to have a listing removed. Instead, contact a reputable mugshot removal service who should be happy to provide you with a free mugshot removal analysis before discussing costs and working out an agreement that’s palatable for both parties.

Should I worry about my mugshot resurfacing online?
If you’re paying for specialist help, most reputable mugshot removal experts will continue to monitor your online presence. Often, if the same mugshot and information that you’ve paid to have removed should reappear, further steps will be taken.

If, meanwhile, you were to be rearrested and another mugshot appears online, at Mugshots.com, for example, our online monitoring would serve to alert both you and us with a view to rectifying the issue a second time under a new agreement.

Conclusion

Whichever method you choose, be both consistent and persistent in your approach. Remember, you may also call on the expertise of online reputation specialists such as ourselves at 844-935-1118.

For those concerned about their mugshot appearing on Google, we offer a free, no-obligation analysis. With years of experience, our expert team of analysts, software gurus, and legal professionals utilize a suite of proprietary tools and unparalleled knowledge on the subject of mugshot removal to offer a service that’s second to none, promising positive results in as little as 72 hours, and backed by a 100 percent satisfaction guarantee.