Using Reverse Image Search

In short: With a reverse image search you enter a picture instead of a search term and find out where else it appears online. This often makes it possible to work out where a photo comes from and whether it has been taken out of context.

In more detail: Several major search engines and specialised services offer this feature. They compare characteristics of the uploaded image with pictures they have already indexed and show similar or identical matches.

In detail

• How it works: You upload a picture, paste its web address or use the image search feature in a search engine’s app on your smartphone.
• Finding the origin: The matches with the earliest date often lead to the original source, such as a photo agency or a news article.
• Old pictures in a new context: Genuine but years-old photos are often shared as supposedly current images; a reverse search frequently exposes such cases quickly (desinformation-und-deepfakes-erkennen).
• Exposing fake profiles: If a contact’s profile picture appears under many other names, that is a strong warning sign of a fake account (dating-apps-sicher-nutzen).
• Trying several services: Every search engine has a different collection of images, so it is worth checking the same picture with several providers.
• Choosing a section: If an image has been cropped, mirrored or overlaid with text, it helps to crop it to the most important part and search again.
• Checking videos: For videos, you can save stills of distinctive scenes as screenshots and search for each one separately.
• Knowing the limits: No match does not mean that an image is genuine or new; very recent or private pictures have often simply not been indexed yet.
• Minding privacy: Uploaded images may be stored by the provider, so you should not upload private photos of other people without good reason (recht-am-eigenen-bild).