(Gloucestercitynews.net)(Dec. 13, 2019)–In simple words, searching via a photograph or an image. Just like we use words to initiate searches about topics and themes, in reverse image search one uses photos to do the same.
Why is Reverse Image Search Important?
As our world and content creation has become more and more photo-oriented, the need for finding origins of an image are gaining importance. Thousands of images get uploaded on the web every minute. It is impossible to keep track of this huge data in today\’s world.
There are many uses of reverse image search. The most common use is to track the origins of an image, infographic, or digital artwork. This tool is used to investigate or resolve copyright infringement and plagiarism issues. It helps find a high-quality version of the concerned image too.
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search by image
also enables researchers to find out additional details about an image such as when was it clicked/uploaded or which equipment was used in making it. Most recently, people and agencies are also using reverse image search to tackle fake news. One cannot navigate the world of internet and big data without being well-versed in image search. This feature is today being used by teachers, researchers, students, and laymen alike.
Some of the best reverse image search engines
Today most of the popular search engines have supported reverse image search feature to keep up with the demands of the increasingly photographic and visual world. Many of these web crawlers cater to a niche audience while many of them like Google cater to a large pool of common audiences. These engines are mostly picked depending on the purpose of the user. Some of them are free to use while others are based on a subscription model.
TinEye
Yandex
Yahoo
reverseimagesearch.us
Getty Image
IQDB
Bing
Picsearch
Flickr
Shutter Stock
How to search by image on Google?
While Google itself introduced the facility of searching by an image in 2011, the issues of privacy invasion and surveillance have made many people susceptible to its use. As an alternative to Google, people are using other independent tools and search engines available online. These alternatives offer privacy that mainstream platforms do not.
Searching by an image on Google is very user-friendly and one does not have to be tech-savvy to perform it. There are two ways in which one can initiate the search; these ways are:
Through URL address: One simply has to copy and paste the URL address of a concerned image on the search tab and wait for the results to emerge.
By directly uploading the image: This method is used when the person lacks the URL address. It is important to make sure the image being uploaded is in the right format and size.
Advanced digital platforms such as Google offer an array of filters to streamline the search by categorizing searches. The filters can categorize by color scheme, formats such as cartoons, and dimensions. Often when one uses a tool that is not a mainstream search engine, they are given a choice to pick a web directory that they would like to go through as part of their search.
image courtesy of unsplash.com