Photo and image policy

Last updated 2026-10-17.

Where photos come from

Every photo on a business page was published by the business, or by the public, on that business's Google Business Profile, where it is available to anyone. SpaSpot shows up to six photos per listing and a thumbnail. We do not use stock images and do not show photos of reviewers.

Illustrations for listings without photos

Where a business has published no photos at all, the page may show illustrations generated from its category and location, so that a visitor can tell a nail salon from a hammam at a glance. These are clearly labelled on the page as illustrations, carry the standard IPTC "AI-generated" marker in their metadata, are kept out of image search sitemaps, and are replaced automatically as soon as the business adds real photos to its Google Business Profile or its owner uploads some here.

How photos are processed

Photos are resized to a maximum of 1,600 pixels on the longer side and compressed for fast loading, with a WebP copy of each displayed photo. Each file carries embedded metadata (EXIF and XMP) naming the business, its category, its city and the address of its listing page, and crediting Google Business Profile as the source, so that image search can tie the picture to the right page. Pixels are not altered beyond resizing and compression; nothing is added, removed or retouched.

Photo tours

Some listings have a short slideshow video made automatically from the same photos, with crossfades and no sound. The video's metadata carries the business name and listing address. Hiding a photo from a listing also removes the video, which is rebuilt from the remaining photos.

Rights

Rights in each photo stay with the photographer or the business. SpaSpot reproduces photos under the same public availability as the source profile, with attribution in the file metadata, to help customers find the business. Reuse of photos from this site by others is subject to the rights of the original owner.

What owners can control

A verified owner can hide any photo from the listing from their account page; the change is published the same day, usually within the hour. Owners who want different photos shown should update their Google Business Profile, from which the listing is refreshed.

Removal requests

If you are the photographer or the subject of a photo and want it removed, or if a photo shows something it should not, email [email protected] with the listing address and the photo's file name (right-click the photo and copy its address). We remove photos on a valid request within 7 days and tell you when it is done. Photos of a person taken without consent, photos containing personal data, and content that breaks the content guidelines are removed as soon as we see them.