Last Updated on December 9, 2019 by Christopher G Mendla
Here is an incredible google trick.. you can search by image.
Suppose you see an image online and wonder what the pic is about? Here is one way you might find out. (this is also useful for dating sites where you can, in many cases, spot a fake profile pic)
What is the image search?
The image search allows a user to either upload an image, or provide a url to an image.
How to search
You can get to the image search either by going to google and clicking “images” at the top right of your browser or going to the google images search.
You will then see a search box where you can upload an image or provide a URL to an image.
Method 1 – upload an image
If you have an image, you can upload the image to the image search. For example, suppose you have the following picture of a mansion.
You would then simply upload your image.
Method 2 – Search by URL
As an alternative, you can search by the url
Suppose you see an image online. In many cases, you don’t need to download it if you can get the URL to the image.
- right click on the image you want to search
- choose Copy Link Location or Copy image URL etc. depending on your browser
- paste the link in.
Results
Google will try to show you matching images. Some of the matching may be based on the file name of the uploaded file. For example, in this case, I called the file ‘mansion.jpg’.
The search showed images of various mansions that were similar in style. Right below the grid, the first two results were right on target. The image was of the DuPont de Nemours mansion in Wilmington Delaware.
Potential uses
There are numerous uses for this tool. Some include identifying things such as:
- People past and present.
- Structures
- Monuments
- Tools
- Art such as paintings and sculpture.
- If you are a webmaster, this tool might help determine if people are stealing your images. You can do some random searches for images you posted on your sites.
The tool has limitations. For example, if you upload this image of a caboose, the results will be red cabooses and trains. This particular picture was taken at the Pennsylvania Railroad Museum in Strasburg Pennsylvania.
Sidenote – Copyright Trolls
This type of technology is used by copyright trolls. These are firms full of lawyers who purchase image libraries, then scan the internet looking for ‘their’ pictures. When they find unlicensed usage, they threaten huge lawsuits.