Determine if an Image You Are Using Is Stolen

5 Parts:

How to use Google Image Reverse Image search?

OTHER CASES

How to use Tineye

STEPS

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With today's technology, we can search the internet and check for our images and determine if they have been stolen or misused. While many already know there is a plagiarism checker for the articles we write, some may not realize there is also what is called Reverse Image Search engine query that is available online and with Google Image Search itself. It can make our lives easier, tracking our photos for duplicates and other related results on the net. It works especially well for the hardworking photographer and others on the internet. The reverse image search engine has content-based image retrieval (CBIR), meaning it analyzes the content of the image, referring to the texture, color, shape, or other information and characteristics of the image other than of the meta tag such as text, tag and description. This content will become the basis of the application to arrive at their result. Though it's not 100 percent accurate when the image has been altered, there is still a big chance of finding related results for the specific image. Below are the methods you can use to determine if an image your are using is stolen.

Common Reverse Search Engine

There are lots of reverse search engines that can be found on the web, but below are the most common application that you can use

• Google Image
• Tin Eye

OPTION 1: If you have the image located on your desktop

1. 1
   Upload the image by going to the Google Search and click the image

   .

   Let use the above image for our sample, the a child holding a paper with word "Stop Stealing" written.

   

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2. 2
   Click the camera icon as shown below

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3. 3
   Click upload image

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4. 4
   Click the upload button

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5. 5
   From your desktop folder click your images and open

   .

   

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6. 6
   Wait until the web search is complete

   .

   

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7. 7
   Then you will see the result images or other website and articles where your images are included

   .

   

   

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OPTION 2: Drop your image directly to the Google Search

1. 1
   Open your browser and the folder containing your file.

   

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2. 2
   Click hold, then drag the file to the drop box on Google

   .

   It will then upload same results from step 7.

   

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OPTION 3: If you have the image URL

How to find the image URL? Just right click the image. Then you will see "Copy image URL".

Follow the step 1 and 2 from the option 1, then paste the URL in the URL box.

1. 1
   You can paste the URL by right clicking in the URL box and clicking the paste option

   .

   

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2. 2
   You may type Ctrl + V on your keyboard.

   

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OPTION 4: Simply right click the image and choose the "Search Google for this image"

Sometimes thieves try to alter your work by resizing the images, making them blurry, changing them to grayscale or taking a screenshot. You can also try searching for the different image variations.

Sample Result of Reverse image search on screenshot image

1. 1
   Go to the Tineye website

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2. 2
   When you're there, you can now check the images via uploading or pasting the image URL, like what we did in the Google image search.

   

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OPTION 1: When your image is located on your desktop

1. 1
   Click the upload button.

   

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2. 2
   On the folder click the image and open.

   

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3. 3
   Then the result will appear, like the illustration below.

   

   

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OPTION 2: Drag the image from your folder down to the URL box in the Tineye page.

1. 1
   Open both your browser and the folder containing the file.

   

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2. 2
   Click, hold and drag the file on the box as shown in the sample below

   .

   

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3. 3
   Wait until the web is done uploading and searching for your images.

   

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4. 4
   You will have the same result like what we did in option 1

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OPTION 3: You can search using Tineye by placing the URL in the URL code box

1. 1
   Copy the URL

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   Please refer to the "How to find image URL tutorial" above.

   

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2. 2
   Paste the URL by copying the URL photo, then navigate to the URL box of Tineye and paste

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   Right click then select the "paste" option.

   

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3. 3
   Or you may use your keyboard to paste, by pressing Ctrl + V.

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If you have problems with any of the steps in this article, please ask a question for more help, or post in the comments section below.

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