The idea of a reverse image search is that, to some extent at least, you’re searching in the opposite direction: you start with an image that might otherwise be the end result of a search, but you want to know where it came from—though that’s not the only way a reverse image search can be useful. It’s a technique most often associated with tracking down the original source of an image, which is particularly valuable in a context where misinformation and plagiarism continue to flood the web. Is the person posting a digital artwork the original author? Is their profile picture generated by AI? A reverse image search can tell you.

You can also use this type of search to find different versions of the same image, whether in a different size, crop, or color scheme. It can also be used to find out more about what is in an image, such as the type of flower you are looking at, or when a particular event depicted took place.

So it's a handy trick to know, for a couple of reasons. Plus, it's not hard to do a reverse image search whether you're using your phone or your computer.

It's probably easiest to start with the steps for performing a reverse image search on your laptop or desktop: If you use Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge as your browser, performing a reverse image search is as simple as right-clicking on an image you've found on the web and then selecting Search Image with Google (Chrome) or Search Web for Image (Edge).