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Quick answer: Finding a business using my photos on Google Maps is frustrating, but you can usually get the photo removed without a lawyer. Screenshot the listing first, then reverse search your photo to confirm where it appears. Ask the business to remove it, and report the photo in Google Maps by opening it and choosing Report a problem. If you own the listing, request removal through your Google Business Profile. The same steps work for food-delivery apps: contact the restaurant first, then report the photo through the app’s help section.
How to confirm a business is using your photo
Before you contact anyone, make sure the photo on the listing is really yours. Restaurants, cafés and takeaways often photograph the same dish or street, so a similar picture is not proof. Compare the listing image with your original side by side — framing, lighting and small background details. If every detail matches, it is almost certainly yours.
Next, find out how widely the photo has spread. Upload your original to a free reverse image search tool and run it through Google reverse image search. Search the full image first, then crop to the most distinctive detail — a sign, a plate, a window display — and search the crop too; cropped searches often find copies the full search misses. See our step-by-step guide on how to reverse image search and our complete guide to reverse image search. Check the results for other Maps listings, food apps and social pages, and save every match with its link.
Finally, capture your evidence before anything changes. Screenshot the photo inside the listing with the business name and address visible, save the listing URL, and note the date. Listings change fast: a business can swap a photo overnight, and once it is gone you lose the proof it was ever there.
Gather proof the photo is yours
A report is far stronger when you can show the photo came from you. Start with your original file: the copy on your phone or camera is usually the highest-resolution version, and it often still carries EXIF data showing the date and device. Keep earlier edited versions too — the edit history shows the picture developing in your hands.
Your publication history is your second layer of proof. If you posted the photo on Instagram, a portfolio site or a blog before it appeared on the listing, screenshot that post with its visible date. A watermark or signature in the corner also helps, linking this image to a body of work that is plainly yours.
Put everything in one evidence folder: the original file, a screenshot of the listing, the listing URL, screenshots of your earlier post, and a short note with the dates. You will reuse this folder for the business, Google and the food apps. Our guide on how to find the original artist of an image explains how oldest-first searching establishes who published a picture first.
Ask the business to remove it first
A polite message usually solves the problem faster than any report form. Often the business never uploaded your photo at all: a customer added it, or a staff member grabbed it from a search result without thinking. They usually remove it once someone points it out.
Use the contact details shown on the listing — website, phone or email — and keep your message short and factual. Say who you are, describe the photo, include the listing link, and state that you took the photo without giving permission for its use. Attach your evidence or a link to your original post, ask for removal within seven days, and keep a copy.
Stay polite and specific, even if you are annoyed. Threats in a first email usually slow things down; a calm request gives the business an easy way to fix the mistake. If you are a photographer or food blogger, offer a simple alternative instead: they remove the photo, or they pay a licence fee and credit you.
How to report a business using my photos on Google Maps
If the business does not reply, or you cannot reach them, report the photo directly in Google Maps. Google moderates Maps content, and policy-violating photos are reviewed and can be removed. On a computer: search for the place or click it on the map, open the photo gallery, click the photo, then click More and choose Report a problem. Select the reason that fits best, such as “Not a photo or video of the place” or “Privacy concern”, and submit. Google’s own guide to reporting photos on Google Maps sets out the same steps.
One important detail: you can only delete photos you uploaded yourself. Google states plainly that you cannot delete media contributed by someone else, so reporting is the correct route — one report per photo. Google warns that several requests for the same content can delay the review, so report it once and wait.
If the photo sits on your own business listing, use the Business Profile route instead. Open your Business Profile, go to Photos and then View all photos, select the photo, choose Report a problem at the bottom right, pick the reason and submit. Google says the review can take several working days. The Google Business Profile help page on reporting inappropriate photos covers both the Search and Maps app versions.
Get your photo off food-delivery apps
Food-delivery apps work differently from Google Maps, because the photos usually come from the restaurant itself rather than customers. When your dish photo appears on Uber Eats, Deliveroo or Just Eat, it is normally the restaurant — or an agency working for them — that uploaded it. So the restaurant is your first contact, not the app. Send them the same short message: which photo, where it appears, your proof, and a seven-day removal request.
If the restaurant does not respond, report the photo through the app. Open the restaurant’s page, find the Help section, and report the misuse of your photo, evidence attached. Support teams usually ask for proof, so have your folder ready. Be precise about which dish photo is yours: menu photos are small and cropped, and a vague complaint is easy to dismiss.
Expect this route to take longer than a Maps report: apps pass reports to the restaurant partner, and replies can take days. Check again after a week, and follow up with the same case reference rather than opening a new report. Keep a clear paper trail: it helps if the case ever needs to go further.
What to do if the photo stays up
First, wait. Google says Business Profile photo reviews can take several working days — a photo still visible after two days is not a rejection. Check again after a week. If nothing changed, re-read the reason you selected: a photo reported under the wrong category is more likely to be refused, so submit one corrected report.
If you took the photo, you usually own the copyright in it — a stronger option. Google provides a legal removal process for content that infringes copyright, and its Business Profile help page notes that content which may violate the law can be reported for review. Use this route when the ordinary report has failed, with the same evidence attached.
Keep dated records of every message, report and reply. If the photo is being used commercially at scale, or the misuse is costing you real money, consider advice from a solicitor or Citizens Advice before taking further steps. In future, watermark published photos and post lower-resolution copies, keeping full-size originals private.
FAQs
Can I delete a photo someone else uploaded to Google Maps?
No. Google only lets you delete photos and videos you added yourself, so there is no delete button for a photo another account uploaded. Report it instead: open it, choose Report a problem, and select the reason that fits. If it is on your own business listing, request removal through your Google Business Profile.
How long does Google take to remove a reported photo?
Google says the review of a reported Business Profile photo can take several working days, so do not expect it to vanish overnight. Check again after a week. If it is still there, review the reason you chose and submit one corrected report.
What if the business says a customer uploaded my photo?
It is still your photo, and the business can ask for its removal from its own listing. Ask them to report it through their Business Profile, and report it yourself in Google Maps at the same time.
Can I charge a business for using my photo?
If you took the photo, you usually own its copyright, so you can ask the business to pay a licence fee or remove the image. Agree any fee in writing first. For larger claims, or if the business refuses both payment and removal, seek professional advice before demanding money.
