Ways To Do Reverse Image Search On Twitter

With Twitter statistics reporting 436 million monthly active users in December of 2022, you can imagine so many images going around the platform. 

You might have a copy of a picture you got from Twitter on your phone, but you want to know where it came from. There are ways to find out who made it or posted it first. 

In this article, discover the different ways you can do a reverse image search on Twitter. 

Why People Do a Reverse Image Search on Twitter

Simply put, a reverse image search is when you use an image to look for words or other images. 

For example, if you saw a car on the street and took a picture of it, but you don't know what brand or model it is, you could put the picture into a reverse image search engine. 

After comparing it with billions of other pictures, it will find the ones that are most like it, and so you can hopefully find the brand and model.

There are many reasons why people use reverse image searches. One of these is to avoid being catfished. They may also employ reverse image searches to find a specific item that they only have a photo of. 

Twitter doesn’t have its own reverse image search feature like other platforms such as Pinterest, but the good news is, there are other ways to do this. 

Best Tools to Do Reverse Image Search on Twitter

Twitter Bots

You can use an internet bot to help you search for information using an image on Twitter. A bot is a software application programmed to perform specific tasks.

 Selva Prakash, a Python expert and web developer, created a Twitterbot called Search This Image, tagged as @SearchThisImage on the app. 

This bot allows you to search for the website that first published the image you saw on Twitter. You can do this without leaving the Twitter app. Here's how it works: 

Step 1. Open the Twitter app, and go to the Tweeted image you want to search.

Step 2. Reply by typing @SearchThisImage in the reply box.

Step 3. The bot will search for the image in Google.

Step 4. It will reply to your tweet with the first URL returned after its search.

The bot responds in just a matter of seconds. However, it can be difficult to determine whether the link is the original image's source. You might have to dig deeper. 

Prakash shares in a Reddit comment that Google doesn't provide the published date for image searches, which makes it potentially hard to confirm their actual sources.  

Google Images

Reverse image search on Google Images is very helpful because of the search engine’s vast resources. 

You can search using an image you found on a website or save it on your device. 

Step 1: Go to Google Search, and click on the Google Lens function. You can also go directly to images.google.com.

 You can typically find the following results in your search:

1. Search results for objects in the image
2. Similar images
3. Websites with the image or a similar image

Google Images can provide a variety of results. This is helpful especially if you want to identify the other objects or persons surrounding the main image.

Social Catfish 

Social Catfish is a website that allows you to verify a person's online identity and helps you find lost connections using phone numbers, email addresses, images, and online profiles.

You can use this website's reverse image search tool if you want to do the following:

1. Verify if someone you've met online is real.
2. Find out if someone is using your pictures without crediting or paying you.
3. Discover whether websites have shared your original artwork.
4. Track down an old flame or friend.

Using the tool is easy with the following steps:

Step 1. Go to the Image Search bar, load the image you want information on, and hit the green Search button.

Step 2. The website will analyze the image to get your desired information. 

Step 3. The website lets you choose your monthly plan after clicking the "Yes, I understand" button. 

Using this website is relatively easy. While it may come with a cost, you will receive authentic information from your search. 

Key Takeaways

1. Reverse Image Search tools help identify images and objects or people.
2. Twitter doesn't have its own reverse image search tool.
3. You can use the @SearchThisImage bot to perform a reverse image search in the Twitter app.
4. Social Catfish is very thorough when performing a reverse image search.
5. Google Images can be an excellent all-around reverse image search tool.

Bottom Line

There are many other reasons why people use reverse image searches. But, as with all online tools, it's important to use this technology with care.  Especially when it comes to private photos, always use common sense to keep yourself safe.