Panoramio Help

Panoramio policies and legalities

Please take look at Panoramio's policies and look again if you have concerns about other people's photos.

The copyright status of a photo does not change when you post it in Panoramio. Photos are copyrighted according to the decision of the owner: standard copyright, copyleft, Creative Commons license, and so on.

When you post a photo in Panoramio, you grant Panoramio the right to use it as follows:

  • Host it
  • Display it
  • Make the photo available from the Panoramio API

Third parties who use the Panoramio API can display your photos, but they must credit you by displaying your name under the photo. Third parties cannot download or copy your photos. More information is available in the API page and in the Terms of Service.

If someone copied your photo to Panoramio without your permission, refer to this section.

Acceptance policy for Panoramio photos

The following table summarizes the acceptance policy. All types of photos that appear in the table are unacceptable for Panoramio.

Unacceptable types of photos Comment
Logos, mini-images, images that are not real photos, scanned documents, text documents, screen captures, collages and copyrighted images that are not yours These cannot be accepted in Panoramio for legal reasons.
Photos that someone else took, even if you credit the original photographer Unless you have explicit permission from the photographer, you cannot upload the photo to Panoramio. If you upload someone else's photo, your account can be deleted without notice.
Photos with advertising superimposed on the image or in the title Photos of businesses and descriptive texts are acceptable, but advertising text over the photo or in the title is not acceptable. As an example, "Pepito's Bar" is okay. However, "Pepito's bar; snacks and beer" or "To order prints and t-shirts, call 394845" is not okay.
Although businesses are visible or even interesting in many photos of locations, Panoramio is not a place for advertising. Please flag as inappropriate any photos whose purpose is to advertise a business.
Sexually explicit photos Panoramio is not a place for sexually explicit photos. Photos of children are especially sensitive. If we have any questions about the intention of a photo, it will be immediately deleted.
Adult nudity can be more complicated to judge. In general, if the nude would be suitable for a museum, or if the nude appears in a naturist location, it may be suitable for Panoramio.
Discriminative, xenophobic or racist photos These will be deleted.
Photos that do not illustrate places Photos that do not illustrate a place but instead show people, cars, interiors are unsuitable for Google Earth, but can be uploaded to Panoramio. Those photos are visible only from the Recent tab of Panoramio's map or from a user's personal page. They don't appear on the map.

To report a photo that violates our policy, please click the Inappropriate or offensive link to the right of the photo.

Acceptance policy for Panoramio photo titles and comments

Panoramio does not permit the following types of content in photo titles or comments:

  • Profanity
  • Discriminative, xenophobic, or racist content
  • Repetitive comments
  • Spam, including a disproportionate number of links in a single comment
  • Advertising URLs

If you post comments with these characteristics, your user account can be deleted without notice.

Although the focus of Panoramio is photography about places, we can't limit the topics that people discuss. We prefer not to interfere in conversations and we allow a photographer to decide whether to delete comments. We take action only in the case of abuse, spam, or illegal behavior.

To report a photo whose title violates this policy, click the Inappropriate or offensive link to the right of the photo.

Acceptance policy for Google Earth and Google Maps

For Google Earth and Google Maps we select only photos about exterior places: landscapes, monuments, streets, buildings, parks, and so on. All photos must comply with the Panoramio Photo Acceptance Policy.

Photos that are not selected for Google Earth or Google Maps can be seen in the following places:

  • If they are your photos, they're available on the your personal (Your photos) page.
  • They're included on the Recent tab on Panoramio's map.
  • They're visible in Google Earth if you use Google Earth to open this file. The file contains all the current Panoramio photos.

Subjects that are not approved

The following tables list the types of photos that do not get approved for Google Earth and Google Maps. The first table lists subjects that are not approved because their subjects are unsuitable.

Unsuitable subject Possible exception
Portraits of people, or photos of people posing People are an unavoidable part of the place
Car, plane or any machine The object is an unavoidable part of a place
Pet or animal Animals in their natural environment showing the background
Flowers and details of plants Forests, big trees and photos that show the background
Close-ups, details, inscriptions, or signs  
Underwater or aerial photos similar to the satellite images from Google Maps  
Events, such as exhibitions, concerts, and parades  
Interiors; anything under a roof Wide perspectives inside churches, mosques, train stations, and so on
Representations, such as paintings, logos, digital images, collages, and so on, rather than images from life  

Types of photos that are not approved

This second table lists types of photos that are not accepted for Google Earth and Google Maps.

Issue Possible exception
Text such as large copyright notices, advertising, or large URLs Very small and discreet copyright notices, if you are the copyright owner
Photos surrounded by frames Very thin and simple frames are accepted, such as black line or white line
Photos that are smaller than 500 pixels in height and width  
Low quality photos, including blurred photos, photos that are smaller than 100 KB, photos that are too dark, and so on  
Photos taken from the interior of a car  
3D photos (photos that are intended for use with special eyeglasses)  

If you think your photo has been improperly rejected, please click Ask for a second review under the photo to report the problem.

Policy questions and answers

These are some frequently asked questions about Panoramio.

A Panoramio user copied my photo without my permission. What can I do?

Send an email to copyright@panoramio.com. Include the photo ID that is located under the photo and proof that the photo is yours, such as the original URL or original photo file.

If we determine that the photo is yours:

  • We can delete the photo immediately. We can do this whether or not you are registered with Panoramio.
  • We can change the name under the photo to yours and transfer the photo to your area in Panoramio. We can do this only if you are a registered Panoramio user.

Another website is displaying my photo. Is that allowed?

There are two ways that another site might legitimately display your photo:

  • The site uses an embedded Panoramio map, as described in a previous section.
  • The site uses the Panoramio API.

A site that uses the Panoramio API can show photos that appear on Panoramio, free of charge. The site must credit the photographer and link to the original photo page. Sites that use the Panoramio API cannot store copies of the photos.

For more information about your rights, please review the Panoramio Terms of Use. In brief, the Terms of Use explain that you retain rights over photos that you upload to Panoramio, but that you allow Panoramio to display the photos through services such as the Panoramio API.

However, if you suspect that the owner of another site copied your photo improperly, you'll need to contact that site to resolve things.

We can act only to resolve issues of copying within Panoramio. If someone copies your photos to another site, you'll need to take action yourself.

Can I use, copy, print or download a photo from Panoramio?

To use, copy, print, or download a photo from Panoramio, you must get explicit permission from the photographer. To contact a photographer to ask for permission, add a comment to the photo. The owner of the photo will receive an email with your comment and can contact you back.

You do not need permission to use the Panoramio API to display Panoramio photos on your site. For more information, see the API page.