Retrace and other image search tools
Each image search tool is good at something. Retrace brings together in one report what you would otherwise collect from several: earlier copies, the date, the place and the sources.
Check a picture How it works
| Tool | Best at | Retrace |
|---|
| TinEye | Finding copies of a picture and sorting them by date. | Earlier copies with dates, plus text and clues from the frame and the place on a map, in one report. |
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| Google Lens | Broad visual search: similar images, objects, products, text. | Turns the findings into an answer: where the picture came from, when it first appeared and where it was taken. |
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| Bing Visual Search | Similar images and objects. A useful second opinion. | A finished report with dates and links, so you do not have to sort results by hand. |
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| Yandex Images | Similar images, often used for sites in Russian and neighbouring languages. | Marks what is confirmed by the picture itself and what rests on a single source. |
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| PimEyes | Face search using biometrics. | Works without biometrics. Bloggers, artists and other public figures are recognised from open pages where their photo is captioned, with a link to those pages. |
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Using them together
Start with a reverse image search for breadth, then use Retrace for origin, date and place. Where they disagree, open the sources and decide.
Questions
Which tool should I start with?
For a quick look at similar pictures, a general visual search is fine. If you need to know where a picture came from and when, start with Retrace.
Should I use several tools on one picture?
Yes. Different tools reach different parts of the web, so their results often complement each other.
Descriptions are general and based on what each tool says about itself. Names belong to their owners. Retrace is not affiliated with them.
See also