Free Images You're Actually Allowed to Use (And How to Stay Safe)

Grabbing a picture from Google Images and putting it on your flyer or website feels harmless, but it's one of the easiest ways for a small business to get into trouble. Most images online belong to someone. Using them without permission can lead to takedown notices, removed posts or even a bill from the owner.

The good news: there are plenty of free images you're allowed to use. You just need to know where to look and what the licence says.

The main types of licence

• Free to use, no credit needed. Sites like Unsplash, Pexels and Pixabay let you use their photos for almost anything, including business, without giving credit. A thank-you credit is nice but optional.
• Free with attribution. Some sites, like Freepik and Storyset, are free only if you credit them, usually with a short line like "Image by Freepik". If you can't add a credit, you need their paid plan.
• Creative Commons. These come in different types. "CC0" means no rules at all. "CC BY" means you must credit the creator. Watch out for "NC", which means non-commercial, so no business use.
• Personal use only. Common with fonts. You can use them for a birthday card, but not for a logo, flyer or anything you sell.

Where to find free images

• Photos: Unsplash, Pexels, Pixabay, Kaboompics
• Videos: Pexels, Mixkit, Coverr
• Icons: Lucide, Heroicons, Iconify, Font Awesome (free set)
• Illustrations: unDraw, Storyset (with credit)
• Fonts: Google Fonts, Font Squirrel
• Everything at once: Openverse searches millions of openly licensed images

Things to avoid

• Images with people's faces or brand logos for adverts. Even on free sites, using a person's face to promote a product, or showing another company's logo, can cause problems. Pick general images for ads.
• Assuming "free download" means "free to use". Always check the licence page.
• Wallpaper and "free stuff" sites that copy other people's work. If it looks too good to be true, it probably is.

Simple habits that keep you safe

1. Download images straight from the original site.
2. Keep a note of where each image came from, like a simple spreadsheet with the image name, site and licence.
3. Credit when it's asked, every time.
4. When in doubt, use your own photos. A decent phone photo of your real shop, products or team often works better than stock photos anyway, because customers can tell it's real.