{"id":804374,"date":"2025-05-30T12:00:26","date_gmt":"2025-05-30T19:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cultofmac.com\/?p=804374"},"modified":"2025-05-30T12:00:10","modified_gmt":"2025-05-30T19:00:10","slug":"reverse-image-search","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cultofmac.com\/how-to\/reverse-image-search","title":{"rendered":"Find the highest-quality original images online with Reverse Image Search"},"content":{"rendered":"

You can use Google reverse image search to find a higher-resolution (and higher-quality) original version of an image online. If you\u2019re putting together a presentation, making a YouTube video or writing a blog post, you want the highest quality versions of every image. You might feel stuck if you only have a low-quality picture and you need to fill a bigger space.<\/p>\n

Google reverse image search will let you upload a photo and find matches all around the web. You can find out where it\u2019s from to cite the source and save the uncompressed original image. Let me show you how Google reverse image search works.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

How to find reverse image search images online<\/h2>\n

First, open Google Images (images.google.com<\/a>). Click on the camera icon inside the search bar to start a reverse image search.<\/p>\n

\"Doing<\/a>
After uploading your image, click \u201cFind Image Source\u201d to find the original.
Screenshot: D. Griffin Jones\/Cult of Mac<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

You can copy and paste the URL of the image or upload one from your computer.<\/p>\n

Next, click\u00a0Find image source<\/strong>. That will take you to a page where you can see all the websites that use copies of the same image, so you can find the original image online.<\/p>\n

How to find\u00a0high-resolution\u00a0original images using iPhone<\/h2>\n

Doing a reverse image search on iPhone takes one extra step. Tapping the camera icon on an iPhone will redirect you to the App Store. If you don\u2019t want to install another app for this one feature, there\u2019s a workaround. Tap the Aa<\/strong> button and tap Request Desktop Website<\/strong>. That will let you continue to the desktop version of images.google.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Enabling<\/a>From an iPhone, you then tap\u00a0Upload a file<\/strong> and select\u00a0Photo Library<\/strong> to pick something you have saved.<\/p>\n

Another place to find high-quality images for free<\/h3>\n

Copying images from Google isn\u2019t always a good idea. The image might be copyrighted or trademarked. This might not matter if you\u2019re making a school project, but if you\u2019re producing a YouTube video or making a company website, you have to make sure the images are OK for you to use.<\/p>\n

The first place I always check is Wikimedia Commons<\/a>. That\u2019s where Wikipedia get images from \u2014 they\u2019re all images that are either in the public domain or free to use if you give credit.<\/p>\n

The search tool isn\u2019t as advanced as Google Images \u2014 you want to type in no more than two or three words for what you want. If you find something\u00a0similar<\/em> to what you\u2019re looking for but you can\u2019t get an exact match, scroll to the bottom of the image\u2019s description page to see what categories it\u2019s in. Click on any category to see similar images.<\/p>\n

Mastering how to find images on Wikimedia Commons is a great tool for finding high-quality royalty-free pictures you can use anywhere.<\/p>\n

We originally published this article about Google reverse image search on February 6, 2023. We republished it on May 30, 2025.<\/i><\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Use Google reverse image search to find the higher-resolution (and higher-quality) original version of an image online.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30102,"featured_media":804387,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31740],"tags":[47,52],"class_list":["post-804374","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-how-to","tag-google","tag-top-stories"],"yoast_head":"\nReverse Image Search: How to find an original image online<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Use Google reverse image search to find the higher-resolution (and higher-quality) original version of an image online.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cultofmac.com\/how-to\/reverse-image-search\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Find the highest-quality original images online with Reverse Image Search\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Use Google reverse image search to find the higher-resolution (and higher-quality) original version of an image online.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.cultofmac.com\/how-to\/reverse-image-search\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Cult of Mac\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/cultofmac\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-05-30T19:00:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.cultofmac.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Find-The-Original-Version.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"3000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"2250\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"D. Griffin Jones\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@dgriffinj0nes\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@cultofmac\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"D. Griffin Jones\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.cultofmac.com\/how-to\/reverse-image-search#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.cultofmac.com\/how-to\/reverse-image-search\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"D. 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