Google Images is an excellent place where you can search for pictures and photos by typing relevant keywords. You just search on a term and find images related to what you typed and most search engines offer this great feature.
According to the report of Neilpatel.com, 10.1% of all Google traffic is for images.google.com. But, do you know that you can also search Google using an image? It is called Google reverse image search. You can do this to find out more information about a specific photo or to find similar photos.
And reverse image search is not actually as complex as it sounds. It only involves searching the internet with an image instead of keywords and you will get a lot of valuable information, such as visually similar images and those websites where the image appears online.
In this article, we have shared how to do a reverse image search on Google to explore an image in depth which can be pretty helpful for you. Also, here we have discussed why and when you can use Google reverse image search.
So, let’s get started.
Table of Contents
When You Should Use Google Reverse Image Search
When you are doing a reverse image search on Google, you usually place a photo, or a link to a photo, in the search bar instead of your query in the text form. Google then starts to find websites that feature your image and also related images. So, you should search with an image on Google for the following reasons:
- To Find Other Related Images: If you want to find other photos that are connected to a specific image, then a reverse image search on Google will help you to find related pictures.
- To Find Information: If you want to find some information about a photo, then a reverse image search could bring up those websites that may include a person’s name or information about a product related to your image.
- To Detect Plagiarism: A reverse image search on google will usually bring up similar images, so it can easily reveal whether an image was copied from someone else’s work or not.
How To Do Reverse Image Search On Google: From Your Phone Or Computer
Google reverse image search actually allows you to search with an image instead of written keywords. And you can do a reverse image search on Google with your smartphone by using Chrome’s mobile app or with your computer. So, here is the step-by-step process of those.
1. Reverse Image Search On iPhone Or Android
You can do a reverse image search on your iPhone or Android device by using a photo from the internet or an image from your files.
If you want to use an image from the internet, you will first have to download the Google Chrome mobile app on your mobile device to do a reverse image search. Then, just open google.com in the Chrome app and describe the image you want to search for.
After that, click on the Images tab at the top to see only the image search results. Then, you need to select an image from the search results by clicking it to enlarge it and tap the Google Lens icon in the bottom left corner of the image.
Now, Chrome will start to give you images that match your search queries. And if you want to use an image from your files, you should open the Google app on your device and then tap the camera icon in the search bar.
The app might ask for your permission to access your camera and image gallery. Then, you need to tap the camera icon in the top section to take a picture or you can also look for the image in your gallery in the bottom section.
Now, just click on the image and Google will start to display the results of the image search.
2. Reverse Image Search On A Computer
You can do a Google reverse image search more easily on your computer just by uploading a file from your computer or searching for an image on the internet. Also, Google Images usually works with Chrome, Firefox, and Safari browsers.
So, if you are using an image from the internet, then right-click on the image you have found in Google and select copy image address in the pop-up menu.
Now, you need to open images.google.com in any web browser and click the camera icon. After that, just paste the image’s URL in the text box that says Paste image link and click on the Search button.
And if you are using an image from your files, then first open images.google.com in a web browser and click the camera icon.
Then you can easily drag and drop an image where it says Drag an image here, or can also click on the upload a file link to search for the image on your desktop.
And if you choose to upload the image, you need to find it on your computer, then click on it, and select Open. When the image is uploaded, you will see a page that contains similar images.
How To Do Reverse Image Search Using Bing
If you don’t want to use Google to perform your reverse image search, then there are other options also that you can use. Because other search engines can also help you to do reverse image searches, such as Bing from Microsoft.
And if you are using a desktop, you should open www.bing.com in your desktop browser and click the camera icon in the search bar.
Now, in the pop-up menu, you can drag and drop an image, browse for the picture in your files on your computer, paste an image or its URL, or you can take a photo.
Then, Bing will open another window with the results of your reverse image search. And if you are using your mobile device, then just open www.bing.com in your browser and similarly click on the camera icon in the search bar.
Now, you might need to give Bing access to your camera and media files if you want to use them for your reverse image search.
After that, just tap the magnifying glass icon in the bottom center of your screen to take a photo, or tap the picture frame icon in the bottom left to choose an image from your files. After that, Bing will show you the reverse image search results.
Third-Party Apps For Reverse Image Search
If you prefer apps over the browser or you are looking for something other than Google app and Google Chrome for your reverse image search requirements, then there are a couple of other apps you can try or always keep on your smartphone.
1. CamFind
If you have found an object in the real world and want to know what it actually is, then CamFind can definitely help you. You just need to take a picture of it, and the app will use its advanced image recognition software to identify it.
However, you should remember that you may not always get an appropriate result. And it is available on both Google Play and App Store platforms, and it is completely free. You can also get price comparisons if it is a product image.
2. Reversee
If you have the image file or the URL of the image, you can use Reversee to perform a reverse image search. However, the app doesn’t have its own search engine, so it uses Google to do the reverse image search.
This app is available for both Android and iOS users for free and you can also upgrade to the pro version for $3.99 via an in-app purchase to get results from advanced search engines like Bing and Yandex.
3. Search By Image
Search By Image is a free app for reverse image search that would help you to find similar images. It generally uses popular search engines, such as Google, Bing, and Yandex. And it is completely free for Android users only.
This app is really simple to use and also fast and reliable. And it also supports a camera to capture images and can show results from multiple search engines at the same time. Also, you can remove Ads by purchasing the full version.
Wrap Up On Google Reverse Image Search
Reverse image search apps are really useful for finding similar photos. So, these apps can be extremely helpful for graphic designers, fashion designers, interior decorators, and other people who generally work with photographs or images.
Also, if you are in one of these professions, then reverse image search apps can definitely help you to determine whether your original works have been stolen by someone.
And there are also websites where you can perform reverse image searching and you can use those if you are looking for other options.
We really hope that our detailed and informative guide has helped you to know how to do Google reverse image search on your mobile or computer.
And if you are facing any problems in any of these steps then please leave a message in the comments below.
FAQ: Google Reverse Image Search
It is very easy to perform Google reverse image search on a desktop computer. However, a lot of people use their mobile devices for reverse image searches and they have lots of questions. Here we have tried to answer some of those in a brief manner.
Q1. Can You Reverse Image Search A Screenshot?
Ans: Doing a reverse image search of a screenshot on your mobile device is almost like how it is on a desktop. So, if you are using Android or iPhone, you just need to open your favorite mobile browser and then visit images.google.com and click on the camera icon to start your search.
Q2. Why Can’t I Reverse Image Search On My Phone?
Ans: Google built its reverse image search function into mobile devices, but on a limited basis. In some cases, when you open images.google.com on your mobile, the camera icon might not show up in the search bar. And to get it, you would need to load the desktop version of that page on your mobile device.
Q3. Can I Take A Picture Of An Item And Find It Online?
Ans: If you use CamFind, then you just need to take a picture of any object and CamFind uses its mobile visual search technology to identify what it is. And this app also provides you with fast and accurate results with no typing necessary.
