Is PimEyes Legit? Safety, Legality and How to Opt Out

You ran a free search on PimEyes, and a grid of blurred faces came back with a price tag on the links. Or a friend sent you an article about it, and now you're wondering whether your own face is in there. Either way, the same question: is this thing legit, and is it safe to touch?

Short answer: PimEyes is a real, working face search engine, not a scam. It's run by EMEA Robotics LTD in Dubai, charges from $29.99 a month (before tax, read on 9 November 2026), and does deliver results from the open web. Whether it's safe and legal depends on whose face you search and where you live: its own rules allow searching yourself and forbid tracking anyone else, and anyone can ask to have their face removed for free.

This page takes "legit" apart into three questions (is the company real, is it safe, is it legal), then walks through the opt-out step by step. It's written by CheatEye, which runs a different kind of search; for the dating profile question specifically, we point you to a separate guide rather than repeat it here.

Is PimEyes a real company?

Yes. The basics check out:

• Who runs it. The terms of service, updated on 31 July 2026, name EMEA Robotics LTD, with an address in Dubai, and say disputes go to the courts of the United Arab Emirates.

• How long it's been around. PimEyes says it was founded in 2017. It started in Poland, changed hands in 2020, and was bought again in December 2021 by its current CEO through a company registered in Dubai, according to its Wikipedia history.

• Where your data goes. Its privacy policy, updated on 23 April 2026, says personal data may be stored and processed "in Belize and other countries outside of where you live."

• What it actually does. You upload a face, and it returns matching faces from public websites. On its homepage, it describes the coverage as "only the open web, excluding social media and video platforms."

A scam takes money and delivers nothing. PimEyes delivers a search. The criticism it attracts is about what that search makes possible, not about whether it exists.

What you pay, and what the free search shows

The free search shows that matches exist, not where they are. PimEyes' FAQ puts it plainly: "Free searches allow you to see that matches exist, but access to the source links is limited." Images are blurred and the source websites are hidden until you pay.

On 9 November 2026, the plans on the checkout storefront called by PimEyes' pricing page were, before tax:

• One-time Access: $14.99. Unlocks the source links of "a specific search" only. No renewal.

• Open Plus: $29.99 a month. Up to 75 searches a day and 10 alerts.

• PROtect: $34.99 a month, or $47.98 with its Takedown Agent add-on. Up to 125 searches a day, 20 alerts, help with removal requests.

• Advanced: $299.99 a month. Unlimited searches, 500 alerts and Deep Search.

Yearly billing shows a 20% discount. Subscriptions renew until you cancel; after cancelling, you keep access to the end of the period. The refund clause in the terms is narrow: refunds apply "exclusively" to orders from the preceding calendar month, with other cases looked at individually.

The most common billing surprise isn't fraud, it's expectation. People pay for one search, assume they've bought a tool, or subscribe to see one result and forget the renewal. If you only need one answer, the one-time option exists for that.

Is PimEyes safe to use?

Safe for whom? There are two people in every PimEyes search, and the answer differs for each.

For you, the person searching

Your upload. PimEyes' FAQ says uploaded photos are "retained for a limited period of time maximum of 48 hours and then automatically deleted," and are never shared with third parties. That's the company's statement, not an audit.

Your account and payment. You pay through its payment providers and create an account with an email. We found no reported data breach involving PimEyes in the sources we read, and data removal vendors that write about it say the same.

What you're agreeing to. Every search means accepting terms governed by UAE law, from a company whose data is processed in Belize. If that matters to you, read the privacy policy before uploading anything.

For the person whose face is searched

This is where the real concern lies, and where most of the press coverage has focused. Face search turns a single photo into a list of places a person appears online. The Cook County State's Attorney's Office in Illinois put it bluntly in a consumer alert: "PimEyes has been used for cyberstalking, doxxing, and other nefarious online activity."

PimEyes has responded with rules and filters. In October 2023, it added age detection to block searches of children's images. And its Privacy & Ethics page lists uses that are "Strictly Prohibited," including:

• "Tracking someone without their knowledge"

• "Monitoring ex-partners or romantic interests"

• "Gathering information for harassment"

• "Creating profiles of strangers"

Read that second line again if you came here because of a relationship. PimEyes' own rules forbid using it to monitor a partner or an ex. Its terms also prohibit using the service for "stalking, spying" or any "invasive" purpose.

Is PimEyes legal?

It depends on where you are and how you use it. What follows is general information, not legal advice.

In the United States, there's no federal law banning face search engines, but some states regulate biometric data. Illinois is the main one. Its Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) requires consent before collecting biometric identifiers. PimEyes' privacy policy says it "does not offer any services in Illinois or for Illinois residents," and in May 2023 five Illinois residents filed a class action under BIPA. We found no public outcome. The Cook County State's Attorney's alert adds that its office was still able to search for four Illinois residents from an Illinois computer in late April 2023.

In Europe, face data counts as sensitive biometric data under the GDPR. In December 2022, the data protection authority of Baden-Wurttemberg in Germany opened administrative fine proceedings against PimEyes, and in the UK, the privacy group Big Brother Watch filed a complaint with the data regulator in November 2022. We found no public final decision in either case as of November 2026.

Elsewhere, including Canada and Australia, privacy laws treat biometric data differently from place to place. If you're unsure, a local privacy regulator's website is a better guide than any blog, ours included.

The use matters more than the tool. Searching your own face to find where your photos are posted is the use PimEyes is built and marketed for. Using a face search to follow, identify or monitor someone who didn't agree to it is a different matter: it breaks PimEyes' rules, and depending on what you do with the results, it can cross into harassment or stalking laws. The same line applies to every surveillance shortcut, which is why our guide on whether it's illegal to put spyware on a partner's phone reaches a similar conclusion.

How to opt out of PimEyes, step by step

Anyone can ask PimEyes to remove their face from its index, for free, without an account. The Cook County State's Attorney recommends it to anyone who doesn't want to be searchable, "regardless of where they live." The form is on PimEyes' Opt-Out page.

1. Upload a clear photo of your face. PimEyes suggests several photos at different angles for better results. Cook County's advice: take a selfie with nothing identifying in the background, and upload a screenshot of it rather than the original file, which strips the metadata.

1. Upload an anonymized scan of your ID or passport. PimEyes' privacy policy describes this as a scan "where only their photo is shown and other data is covered." Cook County found that PimEyes' instructions elsewhere asked for the name to stay visible, and recommends blurring everything except your face, including your name.

1. Give an email address for the confirmation. You must also confirm you're over 18.

What the opt-out does. Once processed, PimEyes says "your face will be removed from the PimEyes index and excluded from future searches permanently."

What it doesn't do. It doesn't delete the photos from the websites where they're posted. The form says so: PimEyes is not "able to take it down from the website it was posted on." Those removals go through each website, or through a takedown request, which PimEyes says can take "from one week up to one month."

Does the opt-out work? Mostly, with a caveat PimEyes itself has written down: because face matching isn't exact, a single request may miss some images, and it advises sending several requests with different photos. Opting out also means you can't use PimEyes' alerts to monitor your own face afterwards.

What PimEyes can't do

It helps to know the edges, because they explain a lot of disappointed reviews.

• It doesn't search social media. Its pricing FAQ says "PimEyes does not search or index content from social media platforms." Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn photos won't appear.

• It doesn't name anyone. "The platform does not identify individuals or verify identities." You get links to pages, and you draw the conclusions.

• It doesn't guarantee results. "PimEyes does not guarantee that all images of you will be found."

• It doesn't reach inside dating apps. Tinder, Bumble and Hinge profiles sit behind a login, outside the open web.

That last point is where many readers actually start. If you were hoping a face search would show whether someone has a dating profile, our guide to PimEyes alternatives for dating profiles compares the tools that claim app coverage and the ones that don't. The other face engines have their own reviews: Lenso AI and FaceCheck ID.

A narrower question has a narrower tool

If the worry behind your search is "is my partner on Tinder," a face search engine is both the wrong tool and, by its own rules, a forbidden use. CheatEye, our own tool, answers that one question directly: it searches Tinder from a first name, an age, a gender and a city, with an optional photo, and Bumble, Hinge, Happn and OkCupid with the other-apps option. If a profile is found, the report shows the bio, photos, last activity, Tinder subscription and last used location. It doesn't search by phone number or email, show messages, or track a live location, and finding a profile is a starting point for a conversation, not proof of anything. Run a search on CheatEye.

And if the issue is the reverse, someone using your photos on a dating app, start with what to do when someone is using your photos on Tinder and how to report catfishing.

The verdict

PimEyes is legit as a business: identifiable owner, published prices, a product that works. It's safe enough for checking your own face, as long as you're comfortable with a UAE company and data stored abroad. It's legally contested in Illinois and Europe, with no public final ruling yet. And its own rules forbid the use many people are tempted by, watching a partner or an ex. If your face is in there and you'd rather it wasn't, the opt-out is free and takes a few minutes.

Frequently asked questions

Is PimEyes legit or a scam?

PimEyes is legit in the sense that matters for buyers: it's run by EMEA Robotics LTD, publishes its terms and prices, and delivers real search results. Most complaints are about subscriptions people didn't expect to renew and results that are blurred until you pay.

Is PimEyes safe?

For the person searching, PimEyes says uploaded photos are deleted within 48 hours and not shared. The bigger risk is for the person being searched, which is why its rules ban tracking people without their knowledge and monitoring ex-partners or romantic interests.

Is PimEyes legal?

It depends on where you are and what you search. It's widely used to search one's own face. It says it doesn't serve Illinois, faced a BIPA class action there in 2023, and has been under a German data protection proceeding since 2022. This is not legal advice.

Is PimEyes real or fake?

It's real. It returns matching faces from public websites. It doesn't search social media, doesn't identify people by name, and doesn't guarantee that every photo of you will be found.

Does the PimEyes opt-out work?

It removes your face from PimEyes' index and future searches, but it doesn't remove photos from the websites hosting them. PimEyes advises sending several requests with different photos, since one request can miss some matches.

Does PimEyes search social media or dating apps?

No. PimEyes says it does not index social media platforms, and dating app profiles sit behind a login, outside the open web it searches.

How much does PimEyes cost?

On 9 November 2026, before tax: $14.99 for one-time access to a single search, $29.99 a month for Open Plus, $34.99 a month for PROtect, and $299.99 a month for Advanced. The free search shows matches without the source links.

Can I use PimEyes to check if my partner is cheating?

PimEyes' own rules list "Monitoring ex-partners or romantic interests" as strictly prohibited, and it can't see inside dating apps anyway. A dating app search tool answers that question more directly, without a face search.