Reverse image search

A reverse image search starts from a picture instead of words. The search engine finds the same or similar images online and shows where they appear. Typical uses:

• Checking a profile. Dating, marketplace and social media scammers often use stolen photos. If a "personal" photo shows up on stock sites or under other names, be careful.
• Fact-checking. Find out whether a viral photo is old, from a different event, or edited.
• Finding the source. Credit a photographer, find the original article, or check a license before reusing an image.
• Finding a better copy. Locate a higher-resolution or uncropped version.
• Shopping and identifying things. Find a product, plant, landmark or piece of furniture from a photo.

Each engine has its own index and strengths, so results differ. Trying several is often worth it.

Engine	Strengths
Google Lens	Products, landmarks, plants and animals, text in images, very large index
Bing Visual Search	Shopping results and similar images
Yandex Images	Often good at finding the same face or scene on other sites
TinEye	Exact copies and edited versions, sorted by date or size; useful for finding the oldest copy

With an image URL, this tool builds direct search links for all four engines at once, so one click opens each set of results in a new tab.

If the picture is on your phone or computer rather than on a web page, the search engines need you to upload it to them. This tool does not upload your photo anywhere on your behalf: a photo from your device only reaches a third party if you choose to send it. Switch to Image from my device to preview the picture and see the upload steps for each engine:

• Google Lens: open lens.google.com, or click the camera icon in Google Images, then drag in the image or choose upload.
• Bing: on bing.com/images, click the camera icon in the search bar.
• Yandex: on yandex.com/images, click the camera icon.
• TinEye: on tineye.com, click the upload button or drag the image into the search box.

On a phone, the Google app and Google Photos have a Lens button that searches the photo directly.

• Use the image address, not the page address. The link should usually end in .jpg, .png or .webp, or open just the image when pasted into a browser.
• Crop to the subject. If you search for one person or object in a busy photo, crop it first with Crop image, then upload the cropped version.
• Try mirrored versions. Some reposted images are flipped. Mirror the image with Flip image and search again.
• Check dates. TinEye can sort by oldest match, which helps find the original source.
• Private and local addresses do not work. Addresses that only exist on your computer or local network cannot be seen by the search engines.

When you click a link, the image URL is sent to that search engine, as with any search. This site does not store the addresses you enter.