You may already know about the ‘Reverse Image Search’ feature of Google Images. But, do you know about “Facebook Image Search.” Just like you use the reverse image search feature on Google to get results, you can do the same on Facebook to find the profile the image is related to. Seems interesting? Continue reading to know about how to do that.
Here, I will guide you on how to find a Facebook profile from a picture using Facebook Image Search. So, the next time you find an amazing piece of art or a nice photograph, you can find it who it belongs to. Or, when you find someone’s profile picture somewhere and really like it, you can know who it is.
What is Facebook Image Search?
Facebook is the biggest social media platform on the internet. It has more than 1.6 billion users from all around the world. And, almost all of them upload their pictures on their profiles. According to an estimate, there are more than 250 billion images on Facebook. The Facebook Image Search is a method to find the profile the picture belongs to. It can also be used to find likewise or similar images.
This technique allows to find the profile of a Facebook user by using the Photo ID, Photo Search, or Advanced Facebook Search. The Image search method on Facebook is a bit different than Google. Facebook keeps 3 key factors into work while displaying images for a search query. The factors are-
- The privacy settings of Facebook users.
- Ability to crawl Facebook photos on the basis of Account ID.
- The images must be public.
On the other hand, Google crawls and indexes the images on the basis of Alt text. Therefore, Facebook Image Search is more accurate to find a specific user.
When can you use it?
Facebook Image Search technique can be very useful in many situations. Let’s take a look at some of the common scenarios when you can seek help from it.
- When you want to find the user to whom the picture belongs to.
- When you have a picture but don’t know who it is.
- To find similar and likewise pictures.
- When you have a picture and want some more like that.
- To know about the picture.
There can be several more situations. The reason doesn’t matter much, you can use the technique regardless of that.
How to Find a Facebook Profile using Reverse Facebook Image Search?
There are multiple methods that you can use to search for a Facebook profile from a picture. I’ll explain the 2 different methods here. You can use any method of your choice. The step-wise procedure is available for all of them. Just follow the simple instructions and you’ll learn everything.
Here are methods to Find the FB profile of a user basedĀ on an image.
Method-1: By using the Photo ID
If you are sure that the photo you have is from a Facebook account, then you can use its ID to know who it belongs to. Follow these steps to learn what you have to do.
Step-1: Check the name of the picture. It will have ‘fb’ in the name.
Step-2: You will notice that the file will have three sets of numbers that are separated by periods. Identify and copy the middle set fromĀ here. For example, if the file name is ‘fbid=737463636537e&set=a.12599254846537.2345.107445546444n,’ then you have to pick the middle one (12599254846537).Remember that it should not have any decimals or symbols.
Step-3: The number set you have selected is the profile ID of the Facebook user. Now open a new tab and go to the URL bar.
Step-4: Type https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=(Photo ID you copied earlier) in it and hit Search.
Step-5: Wait until the page loads and you’ll be able to see the Facebook profile to which the photo belongs to.
That’s it. This is how you can know about any picture taken from Facebook. However, it has some restrictions based on the user’s privacy settings. But, if it’s your lucky day, there won’t be any problem.
Method-2: Taking Help of Reverse Image Search
Reverse Image Search is the core technology that lets you find the source of any picture. The method is also very simple. You can use it to know about the information of any picture from Facebook or to find similar pictures. Follow these steps to know about that more.
Step-1: Visit Google Images in a browser on your PC.
Step-2: Click on the ‘Camera’ icon present next to the search bar.
Step-3: Now upload the picture you want to use for reverse image search. Alternatively, you can also paste the image URL.
Step-4: Next, hit on Enter or click on Search.
Step-5: Wait until the results load and you’ll see the source of the picture as well similar samples. If the URL of the source is from Facebook, click on it and you’ll be able to know about the Facebook profile it belongs to.
Bonus Tip: You can also add ‘site.facebook.com’ as the keyword next to the picture. This will help you get more accurate results as it will prioritize the results from Facebook
That’s it. This is how you can take help from Google’s reverse image technology to find a Facebook profile from a picture. You can use third-party reverse image search engines like Bing, TinEye, or any other you like for this as well. There is also a Facebook app known as ‘Reverse Image Search Tool‘ that you can try.
However, I’ll recommend using Google as it provides the best results by far.
Bonus Method: Find any Facebook Profile by Using SearchIsBack
If the Reverse Image Search technology is not helping you to get relevant results. I have one more option for you. You can try this to find any Facebook profile you want. The method revolves around using a third-party website known as SearchIsBack. This website allows you to perform an Advance Facebook search by entering some custom information. Follow these simple steps.
Step-1: Visit SearchIsBack in a browser on your PC.
Step-2: Fill in as much information you have about the user.
Step-3: Click on ‘Find People’ and wait until it provides the results.
UPDATE: SearchIsBack is not working properly these days as Facebook’s recent changes have affected them negatively. They are currently running a ‘Petition‘ to ask Facebook to undo the changes. You can help them by signing the petition.
That’s it.
Final Words
Facebook Reverse Image Search is a very helpful technique to find a Facebook profile from a picture. This is how you can use it for any purpose you wish. However, sometimes this technology is not enough to get the most accurate results. That’s why developers are trying to develop a new technology that will help you find users on the basis of ‘Face Recognition. Once that comes into the market, things would get really easy.
Until then, this is all we have. That’s all for this post. I hope you find it helpful. If you have any doubts, feel free to clear them in the comments.