How to Get Pictures Off Google: Safely, Legally, and the Right Way

This is the quick-and-easy way, but with caveats.

Steps:

• Go to Google Images.
• Search for your image (e.g., “sunset mountain”).
• Click the image to enlarge it.
• Right-click (or long-press on mobile) and choose Save image as….
• Choose a filename and location, then save.

“If it’s on Google, I can use it.”

Wrong. Google just indexes the internet. Most images are copyrighted. Using them without proper rights can lead to legal trouble.

• Search in Google Images.
• Click Tools below the search bar.
• Open Usage rights dropdown.
• Choose:
  • Creative Commons licenses (safe for reuse with credit).
  • Commercial and other licenses (may require payment).

Click through to the image’s original page:

• Look for license or attribution terms.
• Avoid:
  • Watermarked images.
  • Vague or missing license info.
  • Assumptions about reuse.

Once verified:

• Right-click and Save image as…
• Consider uploading to Cloudinary for:
  • Secure hosting.
  • CDN delivery.
  • On-the-fly optimization.

❌ Bad Practice	✅ Better Alternative
Copy-pasting images from Google	Filter by license and verify source
Hotlinking to external URLs	Download + self-host or use Cloudinary
Assuming Google = free to use	Use Unsplash, Pexels, Pixabay, etc.

If you’re looking for legally safe and high-quality images, there are several platforms that offer free or properly licensed content:

• Unsplash offers modern, high-resolution photos that are free to use without requiring attribution.
• Pexels provides a wide variety of images that are free for commercial use, making it a great option for blogs, websites, and marketing materials.
• Pixabay hosts images, vectors, and videos, all under the CC0 (public domain) license, which means you can use them freely without needing permission or giving credit.
• Wikimedia Commons contains a vast collection of media files with varying licenses. It’s important to check the license details for each individual image before using it.
• Flickr includes many images that are available under Creative Commons licenses. You can filter your search to show only these, but attribution is often required.

These platforms can be excellent alternatives to using images directly from Google, helping you stay on the right side of copyright laws.

Once you have your licensed image, Cloudinary lets you:

• Upload to your media library.
• Resize, crop, compress.
• Transform dynamically (e.g., add watermarks, change formats).

Example (HTML Embed):

<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/your-cloud/image/upload/w_800,q_auto/blog/mountains.jpg" 

  alt="Mountain sunset">Code language: HTML, XML (xml)

Benefits:

• Fast loading
• Mobile-ready
• Legal and optimized

Even Creative Commons images may require:

• Attribution (name + source)
• Link to license

1. Search Google Images with your query.
2. Click Tools > Usage Rights > Filter by “Creative Commons”
3. Click to original source and verify the license.
4. Download and upload to Cloudinary or your CMS.
5. Or use platforms like Unsplash or Pexels for safer options.

Google Images is a discovery tool, not a stock photo site. If you want:

• Legal images that are
• High quality with
• Optimized delivery

…then combine smart search filters, license verification, and Cloudinary to keep your content beautiful and risk-free.

Get started with Cloudinary today and revolutionize your digital asset strategy. Sign up for free today!