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If you want to view photos of someone or something, you search the term on your web browser and go to the Images section of your search engine.

But, can you search an image to know its source? Absolutely, search engines and apps are able to perform a ‘ Reverse Image Search ’ that gets to the origin of that particular picture.

Thanks to reverse image search, you can get to the origin of a picture in no time. It helps you know who originally uploaded the image over the internet.

Why Use Reverse Image Search?

Most images you see over the Internet are not real but doctored. Search engines such as Google and Bing are teeming with images, making it hard for you to spot the original from a replica.

A feature like reverse photo search helps you find all sources that uploaded the particular image and its copies. It is a great tool if you want to re-use a picture you found online.

With reverse image search, you can get the copyrighted source of a picture and save yourself from any infringement issues. You can also track your own images to see where all they’ve been reused.

It helps you keep tab websites and people who’ve photo-shopped them or used them as the original.

Authenticity is the greatest advantage of reverse image search. When more than one person or source claims to author an image, you can get to the bottom of who owns it for real. You can, at least, know who published it first.

How to Do Reverse Image Search with Google

You’ll either use a search engine on the web browser or an app to do a reverse image search. Generally, people use Google – the most popular search engine – to do a reverse photo search.

To use a reverse image search on Google,

  • Open your web browser (preferably Google Chrome)
  • Search for a term on Google and browse through the Images section
  • Select the picture you want to search
  • Right-click on it

  • Select ‘ Search Google for Image ’ from the drop-down menu

You can also follow the same steps when you come across a picture you like. Say you are on Facebook, and you like an image of a smartphone.

If you’re using Chrome web browser, you can right-click on the picture, and click on ‘Search Google for Image’ to find its owner.

Google has also equipped the reverse image search function in its Android phones and tablets.

How to Do Reverse Photo Search with Bing

Another popular search engine, Bing, can perform the reverse image search as well.

Let’s say you are browsing through images of cheesecakes on Bing. You like a photo of an appealing cheesecake.

  • Click on the camera icon next to Bing’s search box
  • You’ll be asked for an image URL or you can upload a picture from your computer

  • Make the choice and click on ‘Continue’
  • Bing shows results of websites that have published the image

This way, you can also get to the recipe of that mouth-watering cheesecake!

Using the reverse image search on Bing is slightly different than Google. You can instantly capture a picture on your camera, transfer it to your PC, upload it and reverse-search it via Bing.

Unlike Bing, Google doesn’t reverse-search images that aren’t already uploaded on the Internet.

Mainstream Image Search Engines

If you don’t want to use Bing or Google, there are a few other search engines dedicate for reverse image search.

You can perform a reverse photo search on –

These search engines are comprehensive in their function. Reverse image search results from these engines can help you look up for related or similar images as well.

Popular ‘Picture Search’ Apps

If you don’t want to use a web browser or a search engine, there are some apps that can perform the reverse image search for you.

These apps are of great help when you’ve to do the reverse image search of multiple pictures. People in digital marketing business can make good use of these apps.

If you know more reverse image search tools, let us know in the comments below.


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