How to reverse image search on desktop, iPhone and Android

What is a reverse image search?

A reverse image search takes a picture as the query. The engine reduces the picture to a signature of its colours, edges and layout, compares that signature with the billions of images it has indexed, and returns pages where the same picture, an edited copy, or a visually similar one appears. It is the fastest way to find out whether a photo has been published before, who published it first, and what it actually shows. It is not the same as a face search, which finds other photos of the same person; that distinction is covered on face search vs reverse image search.

Before you start: get a usable image

• Use the largest version you can get. Right-click and open the image in its own tab, or long-press and save, rather than screenshotting a thumbnail. Small images match less often.
• Keep the whole frame for image search. Image engines compare the entire picture. Cropping to a face or an object removes the context they match on and returns thousands of unrelated results.
• Crop only when the picture is a collage or has an app interface around it. Cut away the chat bubbles, the profile name and other photos so the engine sees one picture.
• Note where you got it. The URL or app and the date you saw it are part of the evidence if you later need to report something.
• Have a copy ready on each device. Most phone apps block saving; a screenshot cropped to the picture is the usual workaround.

How to reverse image search with Google Lens

Google's reverse image search runs through Google Lens. It has the largest index of any tool here and is strongest at recognising places, products, text and copies of a picture. It intentionally does not try to identify people, so for faces it returns visually similar images rather than the same person.

On a desktop or laptop

1. 1

   Open Google Images

   Go to images.google.com in any browser. The camera icon in the search box is Google Lens.

2. 2

   Add the picture

   Click the camera icon, then drag a file into the box, upload one from your computer, or paste the image's URL.

3. 3

   Read the results

   Lens shows visually similar images and, where it finds them, pages that contain the exact picture. Use the option to find the image source for copies of the same picture.

4. 4

   Narrow the search

   Drag the corners of the selection box to focus on one object in the picture, or add words to the search to filter results.

5. 5

   Shortcut in Chrome

   On any web page, right-click an image and choose the option to search it with Google Lens. The result opens in a side panel.

On an iPhone

1. 1

   Install the Google app

   Safari alone does not offer Lens. The free Google app does; the Lens camera icon sits in its search bar.

2. 2

   Pick a photo or point the camera

   Tap the Lens icon, allow photo access, and choose a picture from your library or take one.

3. 3

   Switch to Search

   Lens opens with a general search; swipe through the modes to search for matching images rather than translating or shopping.

4. 4

   Alternative in a browser

   In Safari or Chrome, open images.google.com, request the desktop site from the page menu, then use the camera icon as on a computer.

On Android

1. 1

   Open Lens

   Most Android phones have Lens built into the Google app, the camera app or the Photos app. Look for the Lens icon, or install the standalone Google Lens app from the Play Store.

2. 2

   Choose the picture

   From Google Photos, open the picture and tap the Lens button. From the Google app, tap the camera icon in the search bar and pick from your gallery.

3. 3

   Search any image on screen

   On phones with Circle to Search, long-press the home button or navigation bar and circle the image. In Chrome, long-press any image and choose to search it with Lens.

How to reverse image search with TinEye

TinEye is the oldest dedicated reverse image search engine and the best at one thing: finding where a specific picture has been published, including edited and resized copies, and sorting the results by date. It does not recognise objects or faces, and it does not return visually similar images, which makes its results clean.

1. 1

   Go to tineye.com

   The upload button and the URL box are on the home page. It works the same on desktop and phone browsers.

2. 2

   Upload or paste

   Upload the file, drag it onto the page, or paste the image's web address.

3. 3

   Sort the results

   Use the sort menu to order by best match, most changed, biggest image, newest or oldest. Oldest is the fastest way to find the original publication.

4. 4

   Filter by site

   The filter lets you restrict results to a domain, or exclude stock-photo sites, when the list is long.

5. 5

   Install the extension if you do this often

   TinEye offers browser extensions that add a right-click search on any image.

How to reverse image search with Yandex Images

Yandex, the Russian search engine, has a reverse image search that is widely used in open-source investigation because it indexes sites Western engines treat lightly and because its similarity matching is strong, including on faces in the same picture. It is free and needs no account.

1. 1

   Open yandex.com/images

   Use the English interface at yandex.com rather than yandex.ru if you prefer; both run the same search.

2. 2

   Click the camera icon

   It sits in the search box. Upload a file or paste an image URL.

3. 3

   Read the sections

   Yandex separates results into sites where the image appears, similar images, and the same image in other sizes. The first section is the one that answers where a picture was published.

4. 4

   Crop within the result

   Drag the selection on the uploaded image to focus the search on one part of it.

How to reverse image search with Bing Visual Search

Microsoft's Bing has a capable visual search that is sometimes overlooked. It finds pages containing the picture, visually similar images and, for products, places to buy them. It is a useful second opinion when Google returns little.

1. 1

   Go to bing.com/images

   The camera icon in the search box opens Visual Search.

2. 2

   Add the picture

   Upload a file, drag it in, paste it from the clipboard, or paste an image URL. Pasting from the clipboard is handy for screenshots.

3. 3

   Select part of the image

   Drag the box to isolate an object or a region. Bing searches the selection.

4. 4

   Check the tabs

   Results are grouped into pages that include the image, visually similar images and related content.

How to search a face instead of a picture

Every tool above compares whole pictures. If your question is about a person, where else does this face appear, whether the person in this profile exists under another name, whether your face is on sites you never uploaded to, you need a face search. The steps are different in two ways: you crop to the face rather than keeping the frame, and the results are other photographs of the same person rather than copies of this one.

1. 1

   Crop to one clear face

   Cut away other people, the app interface and most of the background. The face should fill the frame and be at least a few hundred pixels across; the photo tips page shows examples.

2. 2

   Upload on the search page

   Drop the crop on the search page. The first search is free and needs no account. Metadata is stripped before the search runs.

3. 3

   Review the matches and their source pages

   Results are ranked by similarity, each with the public page it was found on. Open the pages and check names, dates and places; reading your results explains why a close match is a lead rather than proof.

4. 4

   Widen the search if needed

   A deep search covers more of the public web and takes longer. It needs an account and a deep search credit.

Which tool finds what?

Tips for screenshots and cropping

• Screenshot at full brightness and full size. Open the picture full screen before you capture it. A screenshot of a small thumbnail is a small thumbnail.
• Crop differently for different tools. Whole frame for Google, TinEye, Yandex and Bing. Face only for a face search.
• Remove the interface. Chat bubbles, usernames, reaction buttons and other photos confuse image engines and can leak someone's name into a search you did not intend.
• Do not upscale or sharpen. Enhancement adds detail that was never there and can push a face search toward look-alikes.
• Try a flipped copy if a scammer may have flipped the original. Most engines handle mirroring, but a manual flip occasionally surfaces a match the automatic one missed.
• Search more than one photo of the same person. Different photos have different public histories; a face search on a second picture often finds pages the first did not.

Troubleshooting: no results

A reverse image search that returns nothing means the exact picture has not been indexed at any page the engine has crawled. That is common for photos taken recently, shared only in private groups or messages, or generated by AI. Try the other engines, try a larger version of the picture, and if your question is about a person, run a face search, which does not depend on the same file having been published. A face search that returns nothing means no clear match among the public faces in the index; try a sharper, more front-facing photo before concluding anything. In both cases, no result is an absence of evidence, not evidence of absence.

How this applies to FaceSearch

We recommend the free image engines on this page without reservation, and we link them on our own comparison pages because they do something FaceSearch does not: find copies of a specific picture. FaceSearch covers the other case, other photos of the same face on public pages. Running both on the same photo costs nothing; the first FaceSearch search is free and needs no account. If the results show your face somewhere it should not be, the removal guide and the takedown guide cover what to do next.