How to Do a Reverse Image Search

Last updated on June 20th, 2020

Image Credits: PC Magazine.

Sometimes when you are browsing the internet and you come across an image and you want to know more about the image or find similar pages. It is a reverse image search and most of the search engines offer it. It’s easy to do a reverse image search on your PC, Mac, iPhone, or Android phone if you follow these steps.

Here’s how to do reverse image searches on your computer and phone.

How to do a reverse image search from a web browser on PC or Mac

Search Engine images search 

1. Go to images.google.com.
   
   
2. Click the camera icon.
   
   
3. Paste in the URL for an image you’ve seen online.
   
   
4. Upload an image from your hard drive, or drag an image from another window.

Search Google for an image option

1. You can also do images search by right-clicking and choosing “Search Google for an image”.
   
   
2. The Google image search will load. Here, you’ll see the image itself and relevant search results about it. You’ll also notice that Google has automatically populated the search box with the image to conduct the search.

How to do a reverse image search from your iPhone or Android

Search Engine images search 

1. Open a new tab and go to the website images.google.com.
   
   
2. Tap the Share button at the bottom of the Safari window.
   
   
3. Scroll to the right and choose the option that says “Request Desktop Site.”
   
   
4. Tap the photo icon in the search box and you’ll see an “Upload an image” option appear.
   
   
5. Tap Choose File.
   
   
6. Select the option for Photo Library. You’ll be brought to your iOS Photos to select your photo. Choose it and upload that photo.
   
   
7. Your search results will appear.

Search Google for an image option

1. Go to the page where the image you want to search is living.
   
   
2. Tap and hold on the image until a menu of options pops up.
   
   
3. Choose Search Google for this image.
   
   
4. Take a look at the results.

Reverse Image Search Apps

There are some apps you can download to search for images. 

• Google Lens (Android): A simple, free app that lets you identify images and find out more about them on the fly.
  
  
• Reversee (iOS): The free app is an easy solution that lets you quickly get to Google Search and search for images. It removes steps 1 through 8 from the guide above.
  
  
• Photo Sherlock (Android | iOS): Another free app that lets you quickly take a picture or grab it from your photo library and search Google with it.