How to find the source of a Google image

Do you want to find where an image comes from and identify its source? Tech klic gives you some tips to achieve this easily and in no time from your search engine.

In the age of random sharing of photos and images, the original source tends to get lost along the way. Fortunately, there are methods to trace an image on the internet. Simplified image searches are what the Google search engine allows. It has dedicated tools that allow you to find the file, the sites on which it was published, the date, the subject of the photo, its geographical context and even similar content. We’ll explain how it works.

How to find the source of a Google image? 2 reverse image search tools

1. How to do it from an original photo on Google?

To search for images from a photo on Google or downloaded to your phone, you must use the “reverse image search” method. It consists of starting from the image you have and going back to its source. To do this :

  • Go to the Google Images home page .
  • On the right of the search bar, select the camera and choose the image you want to search in the files on your computer or phone and do your image searches (one by one). You can also drag the image in question directly from your file folder to the search bar.
  • Once the file is imported, Google scans it and tells you everything it knows about the image: its dimensions, its different uses, etc.
  • All you have to do is browse the results pages to find exactly what you are looking for.

2. How to do it from a phone photo? Applications

Sometimes Google image search results are inaccurate or fail to meet your requirements. It also happens that the functionality is not accessible from your smartphone. There are many applications that do the same job, still going through search engines, via the search bar, but with a more extensive search of the meanders of the net. Here are a few :

All three allow you to find the root of an image, the person or monument above it, social accounts and many other elements of context.

The strength of Reverse Image Search, for example, is that it compiles results from 3 different search engines (Google, Bing and Yandex, a Russian engine) for more results.

Tools like these are very useful for information needs, verification of sources, but also identity in cases of theft on  dating sites for example.

The simple right-click method

The simplest and easiest way to find the source of an image with Google is to use the right-click method.

  • Place your cursor on the image you want to find and right-click with your mouse.
  • In the drop-down menu list, you will find the option “Search for an image with Google”.
  • By selecting it, the same page that you come across when doing the reverse image search opens with the result.

So many simple, quick, effective tools.