How to Do a Reverse Image Search on Android [Tested Guide]

The fastest way to do a reverse image search on Android is to use Google search by image. However, depending on your purpose, other tools may be more effective. We’ll review them in this article.

Maybe you’ve found a photo online, a meme, an outfit, or a place you’d like to visit; a reverse image search is a handy tool to know its source.

Apart from Google, you can use:

• dedicated online reverse image search tools;
• AI reverse image search, or image search apps for Android.

These methods can do a great deal for various reasons, including:

• to know the source of a photo;
• to see where else the image has been published;
• to check on a copyright or find fakes;
• find someone with a picture;
• know where to find a specific product, etc.

I tested different reverse image search methods on a Samsung A33 Android phone. So, I’m ready to show you which ones worked and which ones did not.

Use Google Reverse Image Search

Pros: it finds the image’s source, similar and related content, and verifies the authenticity of an image.
Cons: it may give you unrelated results; it can’t analyze the visual content.

Google reverse image search on Android finds the origin of a photo and similar photos. Although its effectiveness varies, it’s worth trying as a quick, always-available, free tool.

This feature is primarily supported through the Google Lens app and the Google search engine on Chrome and other browsers, including Microsoft Edge, Bing, Opera Mini, and Firefox.

Since Google is the default search engine on the Chrome browser, you will find Google reverse image search readily available when you open the browser.

On Firefox, Microsoft Edge, Bing, and Opera Mini, you must search for google.com to access Google Lens or change settings to use Google as the default search engine for these browsers.

To use Google reverse image search on Android:

1. Open Google search and click on the camera icon. It will open the camera with the option to select an object using the rounded square. Or choose the image from the phone gallery. Tap Search.
2. Google Lens will find similar objects or related images for people.

Google AI overview will tell you who or what is in the photo, and other results will give you sources of the image.

Google reverse image search is ideal for people who are more or less known, other ways it has limited people results. Nonetheless, you will find it useful for discovering the original source of unique stuff like that cute jacket that you saw somewhere and want to find where to buy cheaper or in your country.

For that, you can find similar item on the Google images and click on the camera icon on the image.

You can also add some text to narrow the search, like the name of your country to find the item in local shops.

Microsoft Bing Visual Search works similar to Google’s service, with less effective results for people’s photos — at least in my test.

Try Online Reverse Search Tools

Pros: some use facial recognition that rises your chances to finding someone with a picture.
Cons: some tools require a fee to see full results.

If you want to go a step further, use online reverse search tools. They work directly on the phone’s browser and can analyze images from their databases and show you related photos and their sources.

Search Image’s Source with TinEye

TinEye reverse image search tool can find exact or altered matches. Thus, you can use it to verify an image’s authenticity.

To use TinEye:

Open tineye.com in your mobile browser. You can upload an image or paste the photo’s URL in the search bar. TinEye will search its database for the photo and deliver exact matches or similar photos.

Find Actual People with PimEyes

PimEyes uses a facial recognition system to scan publicly available information to find someone with a picture. I like the fact that PimEyes does not store the photos you upload. As such, you can be sure these pictures won’t leak to other websites.

To use PimEyes reverse image search:

1. Open the PimEyes website and click Upload photos in the search bar. Tap the blue square to upload photos, or the blue button to use the camera.
   
2. Choose the picture (s) from the mobile device gallery and click Add.
3. Select the face you want to search for and click Proceed to the face search > Start Search.
   PimEyes will deliver results with an exact face match.
   

In my experience, PimEyes is ideal for finding a person’s digital footprint. It can search for photos uploaded to social media and other websites, and it also includes a link to the source.

When you click the photo, you can go to the source website, start a new search with the image, or copy the result ID. PimEyes allows ten free searches, but accessing the source websites requires a paid subscription.

Use AI Reverse Image Search

Pros: it does not require signing up; recognises faces, buildings, and landscapes; can find the original versions.
Cons: some tools require a fee for the full report.

As you can suppose, AI reverse image search uses advanced algorithms to search for relevant images online. And it really does. Let’s take one of them — Lenso AI — as an example.

Try Lenso AI

Lenso searches for people, places, objects, and duplicates by image. It is ideal for finding something specific in an image or recognizing faces.

You can upload an image, copy and paste, or drag it from another website to Lenso.ai. The platform Lenso.ai provided me with exact matches of the picture. However, it required a paid subscription to reveal the photos’ sources.

Reverse Image Search Apps for Android

I didn’t expect much from reverse image search mobile apps, but after thorough searching found one that can do many of the listed above methods for you. Here’s my recommendation — Free Reverse Image Search (RIMG) app.

Pros: searches Google, Bing, Yandex, and lenso.ai; minimal ad pop-ups.
Cons: does not have a premium version to get rid of ads.

To use RIMG app:

1.  Install the app from the Google Play Store.
2. Select an image from the gallery, take a photo, use a link, or paste it from the phone’s clipboard.
3. Click Search to begin the reverse image search. The app can search by image on Android with Google, Bing, Yandex, or Lenso.ai.

I searched with Google and found two results with exact matches. The other search engines did not yield relevant results.

Reverse Image Search is entirely free, but it has some ad popups that could delay your search.

Conclusion

Reverse image search on Android is quite helpful for discovering an image’s source and finding information about an object or a person.

Google and Bing reverse image search are ideal for public figures and the world around you, while online search tools are your best bet for finding people.

I recommend PimEyes for a detailed search on publicly available images, especially those posted on social media. Lenso.ai is great at finding other photos of a person to identify or verify them.

If you need a reverse search by image on your phone on a constant base, use a relevant app. Discover all the abilities we have today to investigate on just an image.