Here's how to handle it, step by step.
1. Save proof before you contact anyone
The moment someone knows you've spotted them, the image can vanish. So capture it first.
- Take full-page screenshots that show the URL and the date.
- Save the page in the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine (web.archive.org) so there's an independent record.
- Keep your original file, ideally the RAW, with its metadata intact.
- Note when and where you first published the photo.
This takes ten minutes and it's the evidence any takedown or claim will rely on.
2. Check it really is unauthorized
Before you act, rule out the obvious. Did you sell a license through a stock agency? Did a past client have usage rights? Is it a site you or a partner run?
If none of those apply, the use is unauthorized. A photo credit doesn't change that. Credit isn't a license. The one exception is a Creative Commons license, and only if you chose one when you published the photo. Even then, the user has to follow its terms, such as crediting you or not using it commercially.
3. Work out who is using it and how
This decides your next move.
- A business website, ad, product listing, brochure or company social account is commercial use. You can usually claim a license fee.
- A personal blog, fan page or someone reposting on social media is usually non-commercial. A takedown is normally the right fix.
- A copy on a marketplace like Amazon or Etsy, or on Instagram, can be reported through that platform's own copyright form. If a business is behind the listing, you may also be owed a fee (see step 5).
Where the user is based changes how you act, not whether you can. Takedown notices and platform forms work across borders.
4. Get it taken down
If you just want the image gone, send a takedown notice.
In the US this is a DMCA notice under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. You send it to the website owner and to the company hosting the site. Hosts tend to act quickly because ignoring a valid notice puts them at risk. Most other countries have a similar notice-and-takedown process.
Instagram, Facebook, Amazon, Etsy and Google all have their own copyright report forms. Use them for content on those platforms.
If you'd rather not chase it yourself, Pixsy Takedown prepares and sends the notices for you. One catch: once the image is gone, so is most of your leverage to get paid. If a business used it, think about step 5 first.
5. Get paid for the use
When a business uses your photo, it skipped paying for a license. You can ask for that fee after the fact. Most of these claims settle without going to court.
You have three options:
- Do it yourself. Send a clear claim with your evidence and a fee based on what a license would have cost. Fine for small, friendly cases. Hard when the other side ignores you.
- Hire a copyright lawyer. Good for big cases, but many charge hourly or want a retainer, and fees can cost more than the claim is worth.
- Use a recovery service like Pixsy. Pixsy Resolve handles the claim for you on a no win, no fee basis, working with 30 partner law firms where needed. Pixsy takes on cases against businesses in the countries we cover, and you pay nothing unless we recover money.
How much is my photo claim worth?
It depends on who used it, how, for how long, and where.
In the US, registration matters a lot. If you registered the photo with the US Copyright Office before the infringement started, or within three months of first publishing it, you're eligible for statutory damages of $750 to $30,000 per work, and up to $150,000 if the use was willful. That gives your claim real weight when you negotiate. If it wasn't registered, you can still claim, but you're limited to actual damages, usually the license fee you lost plus any profit the user made from it.
Pixsy's own case results give a sense of scale. License fees recovered typically range from $750 to $3,000 (average $1,500), and legal settlements from $3,000 to $30,000 (average $8,000). These figures are based on 1 year US commercial use and vary by country, client and licensing history. More on recovering license fees.
Outside the US the rules change. Canada has its own statutory damages. The UK doesn't, but has a small claims track for copyright in the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court. Australia and the Netherlands award damages based on the actual loss.
Can I get paid if my photo isn't registered?
Yes. Copyright exists from the moment you take the photo, in the US and almost everywhere else. US registration adds stronger damages, but plenty of unregistered photos still settle. Registering your best work now with Pixsy Register protects you next time.
Someone stole my photo on Instagram
Instagram has a copyright report form for posts that use your photo. Report it there for removal.
If the account belongs to a business, like a hotel, restaurant or brand reposting your photo to sell something, that's commercial use and you may be owed a fee. Save proof before you report, because the post will come down.
How do I find out where else my photo is used?
One stolen photo usually means there are more. You can run a reverse image search with Google Lens or TinEye, but that's a one-off snapshot. Pixsy Monitor checks the web for you continuously and alerts you to new matches, including cropped, flipped or edited copies.
How Pixsy helps
Pixsy was founded by photographers, for photographers. We've helped 150K+ photographers and creators, monitor 150M+ images, and have handled 250K+ copyright cases with 30 partner law firms.
It's one product that does all four jobs:
- Monitor: find where your photos are used online, around the clock.
- Takedown: get unauthorized copies removed, in the right language and under the right country's law.
- Resolve: recover license fees from businesses that used your work, no win, no fee.
- Register: register your photos with the US Copyright Office, or in Canada.
"Most photographers find out about a stolen photo by accident, then lose a weekend trying to work out what to do. You shouldn't need a law degree to get paid for your work. That's the problem we started Pixsy to fix." Kain Jones, CEO of Pixsy
Sign up free and see where your photos are being used.
Quick answers
Is it illegal to use a photo I found on Google? Usually, yes, unless it's licensed for that use. Being online doesn't make a photo free to use.
They gave me credit. Is that okay? No. Credit isn't permission. Only a license is.
The company is in another country. Can I still get paid? Often, yes, if the business is in a country Pixsy covers. We handle cross-border cases along with our 30 partner law firms.
Should I email them first? Save your evidence first. An angry email can make the image disappear along with your proof. And if you want to get paid, a letter from an agency like Pixsy or a law firm carries a lot more weight than a personal email, and is far more likely to succeed.
How long does a claim take? Most cases take 3 to 12 months, depending on the country and how quickly the other side responds.
