Google Image Search Filters Only Free Reusable Images
A feature similar to Google Advanced Search, which allows you to filter results based on usage rights, was added to Google Image Search service. From now on, the Internet users will know what images can be used for free, without the need to pay for a commercial license. Therefore, you can restrict the search results only to images labeled with licenses, like Creative Commons, which permits the sharing or modification of a certain photo according to the author specifications, but for free.
By using the Advanced Image Search, you will be able to find free reusable images of many types. Besides the images licensed under Creative Commons license or in the Public Domain, you will also get images released under GNU Free Documentation license.
Lance Huang and George Ruban, Software Engineers at Google, explain how to apply the Usage Rights filters for searches performed with Google Image Search:
“To enable this feature, go to our advanced image search page. Under the “Usage rights” section, you can select the type of license you’d like to search for, such as those marked for reuse or even for commercial reuse with modification. Your results will be restricted to images marked with CC or other licenses. Once you confirm the license of the image and make sure that your use will comply with the terms of the license (such as proper attribution to the image’s owner), you can reuse the image.”
In conclusion, with Advanced Image Search, you will always get free reusable images in search results, but the exact terms of license should be checked before publishing the photos online.
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