Google is the most used search engine worldwide, with billions of people using it to search the web and access their desired web pages easily.
It has the largest database that enables it to provide users with access to billions of websites.
However, it is worth mentioning that Google provides people with access to more than just pages. You can access videos, documents, eBooks, and images as well.
It is necessary to mention that Google offers a dedicated utility for users to search and view images available in its database. This utility is named Google Images, and it is considered to be the gateway to the largest database of images on the web.
The existence of this utility has made it easier for users to find their desired images on the web. If you want to know more about this utility and its working, read this writing until the end.
Further details are given below:
The Working of Google Images
Before we discuss the use cases where an efficient utility like Google Images can come in handy, it is necessary to outline some valuable details about its working.
Simply put, there are three ways to search for an image on Google Images. The first is typing a text-based query like you do while searching the web for a website.
This method requires you to provide a keyword related to the image or collection of images you are looking for.
Google Images also allows you to search for images using 2 other methods. These methods are providing the URL of an online image or uploading one from your local storage, respectively.
Both these methods rely on the advanced reverse image search to find visually similar images.
This method takes a reference image as a search query to find similar images. The CBIR (Content-Based Image Retrieval) algorithm powers it. This algorithm is based on Computer Vision (A subset of AI) and Machine Learning.
The CBIR algorithm scans the entire image when the reference image is provided to the utility. After this process, it segments and maps the content of the image. Once these phases are done, it identifies and matches the content featured in the image and obtains the required data.
After obtaining the data, Google searches the provided parameters to display visually similar search results. This whole process takes several seconds, and users get their desired images from the utility.
The Need to Use Google Images
Here we will briefly discuss a few use cases where you need the help of Google Images to find the thing you are looking for.
This discussion will help you understand how beneficial Google Images and its reverse photo search feature are.
Read on to know more.
Finding Images Featuring a Particular Person
Using Google Images and its reverse image feature can help you find all the images featuring a particular person.
It could be anyone, your favorite celebrity, an influencer, a person you are researching on, or even your long-lost friend.
All you have to do is upload an image search query. The Google Vision algorithm derived from CBIR will identify the face to display all the images in its database that feature the same person.
Moreover, you can also bust scammers and fraudsters by performing a reverse photo search on Google.
Restricting Others from Using Images Owned by You
Whether you are a website owner, designer, or photographer, you must have published photos that you own.
Unfortunately, the Internet is a large place, and people who can’t come up with their work are always looking for work from others and presenting it as theirs.
You can use the search-by-image feature on Google Images to discover such parties and restrict them from using your images.
Once you find such an entity involved in using your images without your consent, you can also warn them of legal consequences.
Use 3rd Party Image Search Utilities to Get Results from all Search Engines
Sometimes you don’t get the required results from Google Images. Despite having the largest database of images, it is very possible that your desired images are posted on any other search engine.
Alternatively, it can occur because of the shortcoming of the Google Vision algorithm to figure out what you are looking for. However, Google Images is not the only option for you. Various other reverse image search utilities are available to help you.
You don’t need to perform a reverse photo search on all those platforms one by one. All you need is a reliable third-party utility that allows you to search by image and get results from all these platforms in one place.
It will help you save significant time and effort. Ultimately, you will be able to get your desired image search results from platforms like Bing, Baidu, Yandex, or TinEye, all because of one utility, and that too for free.
