Thinking and Meaning

The thinking man's guide to creating connections.

What is Reverse Image Search?

 Reverse image search of Starry NIght

Reverse image search is a genius way to find people and images of products that aren’t readily available unless you know where to look. Image search software takes the guesswork out of finding the person or item you’re searching for and to get legitimate information on practically anything in the marketplace. However, it’s difficult to find those things unless you know how and where to look.

Why Use an Image Search Program?

If you want to find that special dress or a specific car, the Internet is a one stop shop. Shopping websites offer more products and deals than ever before. Sadly, not all of those people and products are what they appear to be. Your dream dress turns out to be doll-sized or the man of your dreams is also the man in prison or already married to two other women. Scammers take advantage of thousands of people every year, leading them to become private investigators. As the Internet grows, people turn to truth finding apps, such as a reverse image search or free reverse phone lookup app. Reverse image search can increase your chances of success by combing the Internet for images similar to the ones in your inbox.

 

What Is Reverse Image Search?

Reverse image search is an online tool that uses a search engine to get information, much like a word search. However, it uses a photograph to link to similar photos online. People use it to identify celebrities, to shop and, to check out people they meet on dating websites. Users can upload a picture or enter a URL into the search engine for results.

How Does It Work?

Reverse image search software can use several different methods. Some search engines target colors and the number of pixels in a picture. Others match visible textures (e.g., a brick wall) or a particular shape in the photo. The items are often referred to as a “fingerprint.” First, pictures are converted into 2D grey graphs and then used to search for similar images. Mathematical algorithms are used to compare images uploaded by users. The downside to this process is that you may end up with a photo that contains a similar background or image but isn’t related to your target subject. For example, if you are searching for a picture of a speedboat on the water, you may get a “similar” picture showing a gaggle of geese on a lake.

Online Dating

One of the most common uses of reverse image search is to identify a person. The person could be celebrity whose name you’ve forgotten or, more likely, the identity of a person you met on an online dating site. Scammers use photos of models or celebrities to trick lonely hearts out of money or personal information. Searching for those images can help to provide information on the image if the picture can be found. Therefore, image search engines can help to protect your safety.

Using Reverse Image Search

Using the search engines is easy. There are a large number of apps on the market and the list keeps growing. Following are some examples for your computer, Android, and iPhone.

PC/Mac

Google offers the most popular image search program for PC/Mac. The user can go to images.google.com to begin. Click on the small camera icon. You then have a choice to paste in a URL of the image or upload a picture from your computer. For dating sites, the best method is to save the image to your computer and then upload it into the search program. Click on the submit button to search for like images. The results will appear below the search bar.

Android

The Google platform will also work on an Android. However, users find it easier to download the Search by Image app as it is a streamlined version. The search engine works the same way, allowing you to paste in a URL or upload an image downloaded from the Internet or your camera. If you are uploading from your phone, simply choose “gallery” when it asks for the photo’s location. The rest of the process is the same as on a computer.

iPhone

iPhone uses Safari, so image searches must be done another way. The two simplest methods are to use a desktop version of the Google search engine or download a third party app that offers the same features.

Veracity and Reversee are free third party apps that allow you to search images. The apps use the same technology as Google and other popular sites but don’t require you to jump through hoops to use the Android versions.

Popular Search Engines

There are many search reverse image engines on the market, including apps. Here are the most popular:

Bing

Bing rivals Google as one of the top search engines online. Its database is one of the largest on the planet and typically offers good results.

Google Goggles

Google Goggles is an app created for Android. The app searches images and also has the ability to scan QR codes and translate text.

Google Search by Image

Google Search by Image is the most popular image search engine. Users can upload a photo or enter the image’s URL. Google offers add-ons to popular browsers like Firefox and Chrome.

Reverse Image Search

Users like Reverse Image Search for its accuracy and reliability. The app uses Bing, Yandex, TinEye, and Google to search billions of images.

TinEye

TinEye is known for its useful search results. The site uses an index of over than 12 billion images. Secondly, developers created TinEye to search images which makes it effective.

Yandex

Yandex is a search engine based in Eastern Europe and Russia. It often finds images that other sites do not.

Conclusion

If you are researching a person or item, doing extra research can pay off. Try several different apps to guarantee the best results and get the most current information.