How to find the origin of images with simple methods?

Last update: April 14, 2020

images on Google Images
A very interesting task that we will try to illustrate in this article, you will spend some time to be able to search for the origin of the images that we may be seeing in any of the Internet environments where we find ourselves. We are not only talking about web pages, blogs or similar, but also those photographs (or images) that could appear on social networks.
It is a complete secret to no one that a large number of images of characters that may be false are usually hosted on Facebook, something of which the administrators of social networks (Twitter, Facebook and a few others) are aware and yet, said situation continues to constantly increase. If you still think you are a great researcher, here we will give you a small guideline so that you can check if those users who have added you as friends are real or fake.

Search for the origin of images with the Google Images service

Although there are a large number of services on the Internet that could help us when trying to search for the origin of images, today search engines are ideal for trying to elucidate this situation in a more effective way. A search engine has a large number of algorithms stored on its servers, where a simple image (which can be a photo of the face, full body, or even an eye) can be found quickly and easily by any user as long as certain tricks are followed.
What we will suggest below is based on Google Images, something we could suggest as a procedure as follows:

  • First we enter our social network (as an example, we will use Facebook) with the respective credentials.
  • We will look for that contact of whom we have some distrust.
  • In another browser window, we open Google Images.
  • From the first browser window we drag the image we want to investigate to the second window where Google Images is located.

Google Images 01

  • We waited some time until we got results.

Google Images 02
With the example that we have set, surely we will have obtained few or many personalized results, this thanks to the use of the Google Images search engine; In the results we can admire those images that have a resemblance to the original image that we have embraced previously. Each image (or result) is accompanied by a URL address, where the photograph we decided to investigate can be found.
Google Images 03
From all the results that are shown there we will be able to determine if the image of someone who calls themselves our friend on the social network is true or false.

Why look for the origin of the images?

Before answering this question, we will mention a few aspects that are usually admired in different social networks, a situation that is predominant in Facebook. Many users or Owners of some profiles on this social network usually have a single image or photograph on their profiles, a situation that is generally a suspicious attitude according to the security and privacy recommendations offered by the administrators of this social network. Search the origin of images It can help us eliminate those users who we consider have a fake profile, since they could be trying to hack our account.
What we have recommended as a procedure for Search the origin of images It not only applies to social networks, but also to a large number of environments where we find ourselves; For example, if we have found an image on which a watermark has been placed and we are interested in it for a certain type of work that we want to do, then we could follow each of the steps that we have indicated in this article to be able to get there. to the original image, which we will surely find clean, without the watermark and with a greater number of pixels (that is, with a better resolution), so we could now download it in its original format.
More information – Add watermark to your images online and for free,