Reverse image search helps people stay safe online. It can also be misused. This policy sets out what searchly.app is for, what it is not for, and what we do when someone crosses the line.
1. What searchly.app is for
People use searchly.app every day for good reasons. These are exactly the uses we built it for:
Checking whether a dating or social profile uses stolen photos
Finding out where your own photos appear online
Spotting fake listings, scams and impersonation
Tracing the source of an image or checking if it has been edited
Finding unauthorised use of photos you own, such as your own work or brand images
Fact-checking images shared in the news or on social media
2. What you must never do
You must not use searchly.app, or any results from it, to:
Harm people
Stalk, harass, threaten, intimidate, blackmail or bully anyone. Publish someone's private details (doxxing). Find someone who doesn't want to be found, such as an ex-partner.
Identify strangers
Upload a photo of a private person you've seen in public, taken without their knowledge, to work out who they are. Monitor or track a person's movements or activities.
Search images of children
Upload any image of a child, unless you are their parent or guardian checking for misuse of that child's photos.
Search sexual or intimate images
Upload nude, sexual or intimate images of anyone, including to find or spread non-consensual intimate imagery. If you are a victim of image-based abuse, please contact us and the relevant hotline in your country. We'll help where we can.
Discriminate or break the law
Make decisions about people's employment, housing, credit, insurance or education based on results. Profile people by race, religion, health, sexuality or other sensitive traits. Use the Service for anything unlawful.
Abuse the Service
Scrape the site or run automated searches. Resell access or results. Share an account. Create extra accounts to get around limits. Probe, attack or overload our systems.
3. A word on results
A match shows where an image appears. It doesn't prove who someone is, or that they did anything wrong. Look-alikes, reposts and edited photos are common. Never accuse, expose or act against a person based on a search result alone.
4. What happens if this policy is broken
We take misuse seriously. Depending on what happened, we may:
Warn the account holder
Limit or suspend searching
Close the account without a refund for the current period
Report illegal activity, especially anything involving children, to law enforcement
5. Report misuse
If you think someone used searchly.app against you, or a result links to abusive or illegal content, please tell us. Email support@searchly.app or use our contact form. We read every report and reply within 2 business days. Reports about children or intimate images go to the front of the queue.