I got $900 from someone using my photo without permission
I have a lot of photo contributions so I used a service that takes your local guide profile link and scans your photos and tells you if someone is using your images commercially.
Turns out a company straight up took one of my interior restaurant photos and used it on their business website for marketing. No credit, no permission, nothing.
I emailed them with screenshots, links to the original upload date, and metadata showing it was mine. At first they made excuses, but once I made it clear I was prepared to pursue copyright infringement in the courts for 10k compensation (in reality I was never going to take this to court) they settled for $900.
You don’t have to turn a blind eye or beg for a credit or cry to google to get it removed – it’s your legal right to demand compensation.