Response from PimEyes to U.S. Senate Remarks: How Open-Web Image Search Protects Privacy and Transparency

What PimEyes Really Is

Despite common misconceptions, PimEyes is not a facial recognition system or a biometric identification tool. It’s an open-web image search engine that helps users find publicly available photos similar to the one they upload.

Here’s how it works:

1. You upload an image you own or have the right to use.
2. PimEyes compares visual patterns with photos already visible on the public web.
3. The system returns links (URLs) to where those similar images appear.

That’s it — no names, no databases, no faceprints, and no personal data.

PimEyes never guesses who someone is or connects an image to an identity.

To be clear:

• PimEyes does not identify people.
• PimEyes does not use generative AI or biometric profiling.
• PimEyes only searches publicly accessible web pages - never private, password-protected, or social media content.

In short, PimEyes connects visibility, not identity.

Built-In Safeguards and Privacy Protections

Protecting privacy and preventing misuse are at the core of PimEyes’ design. The platform uses multiple layers of security, oversight, and accountability to ensure responsible use.

Key Safeguards

• Rate limits and misuse detection: Automated systems prevent large-scale or automated abuse. Suspicious activity is reviewed and restricted.
• Sanctions and compliance screening: Accounts linked to prohibited or suspicious use are flagged or suspended.
• Verified law-enforcement workflow: Requests from legitimate authorities are handled under DPO supervision and due-process standards.
• Identity-verified opt-out: Anyone can remove their images by submitting a verified removal request, ensuring only the rightful subject can request deletion.
• Ethical use for good: PimEyes supports lawful initiatives that help locate missing persons, combat trafficking, and document human-rights violations.

Every safeguard is built into the system - not added afterward. PimEyes is designed to enable awareness, not exploitation.

Regulatory Compliance

PimEyes fully complies with GDPR and the UK Data Protection Act (DPA) - two of the world’s strongest privacy frameworks.

Our compliance includes:

• No biometric identification or personal data processing.
• Temporary handling of uploaded images with no storage or linking to identities.
• Independent review confirming full alignment with GDPR and DPA standards.

PimEyes’ privacy-by-design approach ensures transparency, legality, and respect for individual rights from the ground up.

Transparency and Responsibility

The current debate about visual-search tools highlights one thing: technology must evolve responsibly.

PimEyes’ mission is clear - to help people understand where their publicly available photos appear online, while maintaining the highest standards of privacy and compliance.

Our technology links images to images, not people to data, and operates entirely within the open web. Through strict safeguards, verified processes, and transparent communication, we continue to build a safer digital ecosystem where awareness leads to protection.

In Summary

The discussion around open-web image search should be based on facts, not fear.

PimEyes remains committed to transparency, responsibility, and human rights - showing how image-search technology can protect privacy rather than compromise it.

Awareness empowers protection. Responsible technology builds transparency. And transparency builds trust.