PimEyes vs. ScanErase: The Complete NCII Recovery Guide
If your intimate images have been shared without your consent, you've likely discovered PimEyes, the facial recognition search engine that can find your photos across the internet. But finding where your images are is only half the battle. Getting them removed requires legal action, and that's where the tools diverge.
PimEyes: What It Does
PimEyes is a reverse facial recognition search engine. You upload a photo of yourself, and it scans the web to find pages where your face appears.
Strengths:
- Large database of indexed images
- Reasonably accurate facial matching
- Shows you preview thumbnails
Limitations:
- Discovery only, no removal functionality
- You must handle all removal requests manually
- No legal notice drafting or tracking
- No integration with the TAKE IT DOWN Act
- Subscription-based pricing, no outcome guarantee
ScanErase: What It Does Differently
ScanErase was built specifically for the post-TAKE IT DOWN Act landscape. We don't just find your images, we remove them.
The Three-Phase Approach
Phase 1: Surface Discovery
Upload your photo and we immediately scan major platforms and image hosts using multiple search vectors. You'll see blurred preview thumbnails confirming we found potential matches, without exposing the content.
Phase 2: Deep Web Scan
Our deep scan goes beyond what surface-level tools index, reaching adult platforms, dark web adjacent services, and offshore hosts that PimEyes cannot or will not index.
Phase 3: Legal Removal
For each match, we:
- Extract the platform's legal abuse contact
- Draft a certified legal notice citing 47 U.S.C. § 223a (TAKE IT DOWN Act)
- Specify the mandatory 48-hour removal window
- Track compliance status for every URL
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | PimEyes | ScanErase |
|---|---|---|
| Facial recognition search | ✓ | ✓ |
| Deep web scanning | Limited | ✓ |
| Removal requests | ✗ | ✓ |
| Legal notice drafting | ✗ | ✓ |
| TAKE IT DOWN Act compliance | ✗ | ✓ |
| Tracking & status updates | ✗ | ✓ |
| Biometric liveness verification | ✗ | ✓ |
| Price to unlock full report | N/A | $15 one-time |
The Verdict
PimEyes is a discovery tool. ScanErase is a recovery tool.
If your goal is finding out where your images are, PimEyes can help. But if your goal is actually removing those images with legal force, you need ScanErase's automated TAKE IT DOWN Act pipeline.
The 48-hour removal window created by Pub. L. 119-12 is a powerful legal mechanism, but only if your notices are correctly formatted, properly addressed, and legally sound. ScanErase ensures every notice meets the federal standard.
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