How to do a reverse image search and reasons you should

The tool isn’t just to uncover catfishing

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When you hear about reverse image searches, the first thing that probably comes to mind is catfishing as it relates to online dating. However, there are other reasons you might want to use a reverse image service. In this article, you’ll learn more about reverse image searches, how to perform them, and why it’s important.

What is a reverse image search?

A reverse image search is an online content-based image retrieval technique (CBIR) that uses algorithms to match a sample image with one(s) online. Doing so allows you to locate its source, find the same picture with a better resolution, and see where the image appears online.

There are various reasons to use reverse image search tools. Yes, some of these do involve dating and catfishing. Other reasons are less common but also meaningful. Let’s narrow these down to three broad categories: social, security, and personal.

Social

If you’re dating, the odds are reasonably high that you’re trying to find would-be partners online through services like Bumble, Hinge, Tinder, or similar sites. Of course, before reading anything about the other person, most of us zero in on the pictures to make a quick judgment. But, sometimes, those photos aren’t as they appear or don’t tell the entire story. Its times like these, a reverse image search can come in handy.

However, the social need to use a reverse image lookup can extend beyond dating.

Security

There are dangerous people in the world; unfortunately, some post fake photos to lure you into a compromising situation. This can affect individuals and businesses alike.

Personal

If you’ve ever posted a photo online, it could fall into the wrong hands. Where it goes from there isn’t necessarily an issue of security. Therefore, it’s probably best to take some time each year and run a few of your favorite photos through a reverse image tool. You might be surprised by what you find.

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Reverse images tools to use

The results can be deceiving if you search for a reverse image service online. Although it might look like many tools are available, there aren’t, as many search results point to the same websites. This is a linking exercise for many website owners looking to cash in the large number of “reverse image” searches each year.

My four favorite reverse image tools areGoogleImage Search, TinEye,BIng, and Pinterest Visual Search. Here’s a brief look at each.

The most popular reverse image tool,Google Images, allows you to upload an image as input or type/paste its online location in the search box. From there, Google will identify similar images in its results. Google’s tool is popular because it can index billions of images, which leads to better results. However, the biggest drawback is you can’t use the tool directly on mobile, although there are workarounds.

TinEye

Canadian-basedTinEyeis also worth considering; it’s available in free and paid versions, with the latter offering unlimited searches. TinEye includes a large reverse image search engine with billions of images. It has browser extensions forpopular browsers, including Chrome andSafari. However, it limits the upload file size to 20MB per file, which could affect some searches.

Bing Image Match

Microsoft’sBing Image MatchIs very easy to use. It offers the ability to upload images for search or by pointing to its URL. It works on mobile devices, and there’s even a dedicated app for iPhones. Some online users, however, claim Bing’s search results aren’t nearly as good as Google and TinEye.

Finally, there’s thePinterest Visual Search. The tool helps users find similar pins within the vast Pinterest database. Depending on your interests, this is good (for Pinterest users) and bad (there are no search capabilities outside of Pinterest). Don’t attempt to use this tool to identify people since that’s not the intention. However, with what it can do, it does it very well.

You might also be interested in our report onhow to protect yourself onlineand thebest internet security suites.

Bryan M. Wolfe is a staff writer at TechRadar, iMore, and wherever Future can use him. Though his passion is Apple-based products, he doesn’t have a problem using Windows and Android. Bryan’s a single father of a 15-year-old daughter and a puppy, Isabelle. Thanks for reading!

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