How to find the original source of an image
Search the image on several engines and look for the oldest copy. TinEye is built for this: it finds exact copies and can sort them oldest first, and Google Lens and Bing often find the page where a news or stock photo was first published.
Open the free toolFree, no account. Searches Google Lens, Yandex, Bing and TinEye. Nothing is uploaded.
Steps
- Use the largest, cleanest copy you have. Crop off added captions, borders or watermarks if you can.
- Open the free tool and drop the image in, or paste the image address if it is already online.
- Run TinEye and sort the matches by oldest. Then check Google Lens, Bing and Yandex, which index different parts of the web.
- Open the earliest matches and look for a photographer credit, a news agency, a stock photo ID or an original post date.
- If you have the original file, check the metadata table for the camera, the date taken and any GPS location.
What it can't tell you
- The oldest copy an engine has found is not always the original. Engines only see what they have crawled.
- Dates on web pages can be wrong or changed. Treat them as a lead, not proof.
- Most images online have had their metadata stripped, so the camera date is often missing.
Questions
Which engine is best for finding the original?
TinEye for exact copies, which you can sort by date, Google Lens for news and web pages, and Yandex for faces and the same photo reposted. Running all four catches more than any one.
How do I check if a news photo is old or out of context?
Reverse search it and look for copies from before the event it claims to show. An earlier copy with a different caption is the classic sign of a recycled photo.
Can the file itself tell me where it came from?
Sometimes. An original camera file can carry the camera model, the date taken and GPS coordinates. Files saved from social media usually have all of that removed.
Do I need an account?
No. The tool is free with no sign-up, and your image is not uploaded to this site.
Ready? The tool runs in your browser and your image stays on your device until you pick an engine.
Open the free tool