Facebook Reverse Image Search | How to Find Facebook Profiles From a Picture Step by Step?

Facebook reverse image search is a method used in finding the profile of the Facebook user by using a photo identification number assigned by FB, URL, a picture, photo search or advanced Facebook search.

Table of Contents

What Is Facebook?

Facebook is the most popular social media platform in the world. Facebook currently have 2 billion actively engaged monthly users. As a social sharing network, Facebook allows a user to upload photos every day.

According to the latest statistics by BestSoft Nigeria (using site:facebook.com advanced Google search with some .jpg,.png,.gif, search strings), over 200 million photos are uploaded or posted to Facebook timeline every 24 hours.

To sign up for Facebook account will require an active email address and phone number to verify your ownership of the email and identity.

Mark Zuckerberg is the creator and brain behind Facebook.

Do you’ve a photo and want to search the profile or related data of the sample picture on Facebook, then try reverse image search Facebook.

More: Facebook Image Search

Facebook launches Graph Search on iPhone

Facebook launches Graph Search on iPhone

Facebook has confirmed that it’s launching Graph Search in its mobile application for the iPad and iPhone following an extensive period of testing.

Graph Search tapping Facebook’s vast database, uses natural language queries to surface content information from within a user’s network of friends that would be impossible or impractical using the limited standard search feature.

Open Graph tool makes it fun and easy to pass through the eyes of your friends to explore the world .

Facebook, the social networking giant said “Today we’re updating Facebook Search to make it easier to find the posts that have been shared with you,”. Facebook confirmd that the feature rolled out in US English on the desktop and iPhone.

Just tap on the search bar in the iOS app, type and watch as Graph Search does unravel the full potential of the feature, use natural language queries (i.e. “My friends who live in Calabar) to limit your search to specific lists, timelines, friends, locations, and other things.

Your search results are unique and personalized to you.

Facebook reverse image search

Read Also: Google Reverse Image Search

What Is Facebook Reverse Image Search?

If you want to search for photos on Facebook, there is a technique called Facebook reverse image search. It helps you detect the profile of a Facebook user using the photo ID, Facebook search, profile search or reverse Facebook image search.

The social search engine can also help you find the profile if you’ve the name of someone you is looking for. Again, advanced search on Facebook can help narrow the search. Facebook keeps your search history using your browser cache for your personal account. It helps as a quick reference to your previous searches instead of re-typing them each time.

Also Read: Yahoo Reverse Image Search

How to Search an Image on Facebook?

Search Google for this Image

The way Facebook performs its searches is different from other search engines like Yandex, Bing, and Google.

Other search engines crawl and index the images based on Alt text and your recent searches or activities.

Facebook algorithm considers 3 factors while crawling and displaying an image for a search query.

  1.  Displays public photos in the search results.
  2. Considers the privacy settings of the user.
  3.  Crawls Facebook Photos based on the Account Id.
facebook privacy settings search engines

Further Reading: Yandex Reverse Image Search

How Facebook Search Works?

Reverse Image Search Facebook

To search for pictures on Facebook, you’ve to sign into the account and type in the relevant keywords. Generally, FB displays the result based on the query. You can add “photos of ZYX” to search for a specific picture and get relevant results.

Alternatively, Social Search Engine can help find the profile. Set your search parameter as Facebook and type someone’s name. Your results will be filtered and show relevant images only.

Also, you can use Facebook.com/directory and narrow down the characters to find a specific profile using the FB options. This is another process to search for profiles and images directly on Facebook website.

Most importantly, user’s FB account privacy setting is a determining factor as to what public photos appear in the results. Remember to always log in to your personal account.

If a user set the images with a privacy setting of “Friend of Friend” or “Facebook” then it’s not easy to find the pictures, unless you’re friends or connected with the person.

Most Popular Posts

How to Find a Facebook Profile with an Image

Here are the steps how to find the Facebook profile of someone based on a sample image.

1. Find a Person on Facebook Using a Photo ID

Using a photo ID technique, if the photo is taken from an active Facebook account then this method will help identify the identity of the image.

1. Check the file name of the picture.

2. If the picture has fb in the filename.

3. They should be three sets of numbers separated by periods.

4. Look at the middle set of numbers.

5. For example, fbid=111e&set=b.22.33.44&.

6. The middle underlined set is the no. we are going to use.

7. Ensure it doesn’t include any decimal.

8. The profile ID of a Facebook user is the underlined number set.

9. In the URL, enter https://facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=*** (always include https)

10. Replace *** and type the profile ID number.

11. Hit “Enter” to see the profile of the FB user.

There are some limitations with the above method due to privacy settings of the user.

2. Using SearchIsBack for Advanced FB Search

Unlike Facebook Photo Finder, Search Is Back is an advanced Facebook reverse image search tool that lets you find people by city, school, first name, relationship status, and many more.

To use the web service you don’t need complicated FB search terms. With limited resource it makes finding people on Facebook simple. You can search for photos, events, posts, phone number of a user, appraiser, as well as perform reverse phone search.

3. Using Reverse Image Search to Search Facebook Profile by Picture

Reverse image search is an online app, website service or search engine that aids in finding the source or origin of the photo. It helps you discover similar images across the web. Reverse image search lets you upload the picture on the search engine and it displays similar images from around the web.

You can use “Search by Image” to upload a picture and the engine will show you all the similar photos, their source and if the URL with the photo is from Facebook.

There are some of the online reverse image search engines and how to search for image on net.

Related Article: Reverse Image Search

1. Search by Image – Google and How to Find Someone on Facebook Using a Picture

  1. Visit images.google.com search & click the Camera icon in the search bar.
  2. Upload the image from your device’s folder.
  3. Press enter and Google will show you results similar to someone’s pic on Facebook.
  4. For custom results, type site:facebook.com in the search bar.
  5. Once you hit “Search”, Google will give you image search results from facebook.com only.

Sometimes, Google image search is unpredictable and a lot of websites don’t show pictures from Facebook due to user’s privacy settings. I’ve found other useful tools for searching FB by pictures.

Also Read: Search by Image Android

2. Using Tineye as a Facebook Photo Finder

Tineye is a specialized app for rev image searching and similar to reverse image search for instagram. As a Facebook photo finder, Tineye allows you to upload the image or paste the URL to get related images and websites that host the images.

3. Using Bing Visual Search Tool to Search for Image on net

Bing search engine from Microsoft has a visual tool feature that lets you search for the Facebook profile or someone’s dataset using an image.

Visit Bing images and click on the Camera icon to upload the photo. If the photo is available on Facebook you’ll get the user’s related information.

Bing automatically detects all uploaded photos that are hosted anonymously and can’t be discovered by other users.

Related Topic: Bing Reverse Image Search

4. Identify Person in Photo App on Facebook using RIS Mobile App

facebook app smartphone

With RIS Mobile app you can upload the images on the smartphone app and check the original source of the Facebook image. It helps you search by people, things, and places in your photos that are hosted on Facebook.

This app also enables you to find photos of a pet or person & apply a label to it.

  1. Open the Google Photos app on your Android phone or tablet.
  2. Sign in to your Google account.
  3. Tap the Search bar at the top.
  4. You’ll see a row of faces under the list of recent or suggest searches.
  5. Tap a face to see photos of more.
  6. Tap Next to see more faces.

You can visit the App store or Google Play Store to download the app and upload the pictures.

The App scans for the source across multiple search engines to show the best similar images online.

5. Using Reverse Image Search for Instagram to Find a FB Profile Pictures

Reverse Image Search for Instagram to Find a FB Profile Pictures

Did you know that Instagram reverse search can also reverse search based on any image to find the profile of a user by uploading photo on web engine.

Related: Instagram Reverse Image Search

6. Catfish Finder App (Social Catfish) & How to Find Someone on Facebook using a Picture

Catfish finder app is a search by image tool for finding results for social sites. Catfish finder app uses images metadata and facial recognition for Facebook social profile and also for phone lookup.

See: Image Search Catfish

Catfish Finder App detect fake Facebook profile picture
Is there a reverse image search engine for Facebook Profile Pictures?

Yes there is and here is how to do or use it.

How do I find a Facebook profile with only a picture?
  1. Simply highlight the picture.
  2. Right click with cursor on picture.
  3. Select “Search Google for this image” from the dropdown list.
  4. Browse and review links provided in the image search results page.

Reverse image search Facebook technique using social catfish lets users track down fake photos of their profiles as well as screenshot that is taken and use for the purpose of scamming people.

7. Use Image Upload Facebook Extension

Image Upload Facebook Extension

You can use Image Upload Facebook extension to find the Facebook user’s profile by using a picture uploading. This plugin allows you to perform an image upload on Facebook and while the upload is in progress the plugin automatically perform a reverse image search for FB to search profiles by photo in order to show similar pictures and the various profiles that are using the same image across Facebook.

8. Using Image Facebook Photo Add-on

Facebook Image Search

By means of providing a photo URL only, this Image Facebook Photo add-on is one of the world most popular extensions for social media platform for reverse image search. The add-on is available for Facebook image search, Reddit image searching, Instagram, Google plus postm Pinterest, and Twitter. It has a simple lightweight user interface that only accept image URL to perform reverse searching.

You can download the add-on on Google Play store and Apple iTune store. And it’s free to use. Here’s the link to the download page.

9. Other Reverse Image Search Facebook Web Services

These online web service providers also offer the ability to perform a reverse image search on Facebook via their search engine platform to find profile from a picture upload or URL of the image.

They also have basic yet functional reverse image search tools and apps for mobile devices, iPhone, Android, and can work on any type of cell phone devices that support Mozilla Firefox browser app.

Here’s the list:

  1. Camfind Visual Search Engine
  2. Google Lens
  3. Veracity
  4. Reversee
  5. Photo Sherlock
  6. Reverse.photos image search
  7. Baidu image search
  8. Yandex
  9. Whatapp’s Reverse Face Identity
  10. Image Identify
  11. Pinterest Visual Search Tool
  12. IQDB
  13. Comface Identity App.

Watch 6.55 minutes Video on YouTube About Facebook Reverse Image Search

This 5.25mins takes a look at the face book com setting for image searching based on your personal account’s privacy settings.

Frequently Asked Questions About Facebook Reverse Image Search | Personal Account

Can you reverse image search on Facebook?

Yes, you can try reverse image search on Facebook to search profile by photo, narrow the search with advanced search options, picture ID number or URL. These are ways to find a person on Facebook via their photo. Facebook assigns and uses identification number for every photo posted on its platform and uses it to identify the photo and try to search Facebook for the user profile that posted it.

You can find someone using Google images to find photos that look exactly as the one you uploaded. Thirdly, use TinEye to do a reverse image search by upload of a photo or paste the photo’s url. Review the Facebook links provided in the search results page.

How do I find someone on Facebook with just a picture?

Here’s how to use Google images to find someone on Facebook.

  1. Visit Google Images at images.google.com
  2. In the Search bar, click the Camera icon.
  3. There are two options: upload an image and choose file or paste the URL of the picture you’ve found on Facebook site or elsewhere.
  4. Press “Search” and you’ll see a list of all the web pages where that photo appears including Facebook. (That depends on the privacy setting of the user profile that posted the picture).

That’s the easiest way to finding a Facebook profile of someone from a picture.

How can I Search a Person by Image

Using Google Images to find someone, here’re the steps:

  1. Go to Google Images.
  2. Click the Camera icon in the search bar.
  3. Paste the URL of the image or upload an image.
  4. Hit “Search” and it’ll show you all the web pages that host the photo for your review and action.

What is the Best Reverse Image Search Engines?

These are the best reverse image search engines.

  1. Pinterest visual search tool.
  2. Bing image match.
  3. Image identity.
  4. TinEye reverse image search.
  5. Yandex search engine.
  6. Google Images.
  7. Karma Decay.
  8. IQDB image search engine.
  9. Yahoo reverse image search.
  10. Instagram reverse image search.
  11. Image search Catfish.

Related Reading: Best Reverse Image Search Engines

How Do I Search an Image Online?

You can search an image online using Google image search. Click on the Camera icon to either upload an image or paste an image url you want to search for. If the image you want to search for is online, right-click on the image and choose copy image address/copy image URL using Google Chrome. Then paste the URL into Google Images.

How to Do an Image Search on Facebook

Here’re the steps how you can do an image search on Facebook.

  1. Right-click the Facebook image in your web browser.
  2. Select “Properties” from the drop-down menu.
  3. Locate the “Address:(URL)” section.
  4. Write down the second to last number for example, 6536373
  5. Replace “ProfileID” in the URL below with the number that you copied: htpps://www.facebook.com/profile… This results in a URL of https://facebook.com/profile.php?id=8282922
  6. Copy the URL that you created in step 3 and paste into your web browser. Press “Enter” to access the user’s Facebook profile.
  7. You may have to log in to your Facebook account to access your user’s profile.

How to Search For a Facebook Account with a Picture

It’s possible to search for a Facebook account with a picture. Consider using Google images on your laptop PC or tablet, but not on a cell phone.

Follow these steps below:

Use images.google.com search to find a Facebook account with a photo.

  1. Open images.google.com search on your computer or tablet browser e.g Chrome, Safari, Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer or Opera.
  2. Click the Camera icon in the search bar.
  3. Choose one of these options.
  4. Upload an image using the choose file button.
  5. Or, paste the url of the image into the search box.
  6. Click “Search” button and Google images search will display all the pages where the photo appears.

Note: If you’ve someone’s profile picture and you want to find the profile page that matches that photo. Facebook does not provide a reverse image search facility on its platform for now.

The “search by image” function on Google Images can help you find publicly enable accounts. That is where search engines outside of Facebook have access to link to the user’s profile (check out this screenshot below).

facebook privacy settings and tools

Basically this shows you how to find someone on Facebook with just a picture.

Is It Possible to Do a Reverse Image Search on Facebook?

Although Facebook doesn’t have a reverse image search option, with a unique numerical ID that Facebook assigns to every image on Facebook to identify the source of the image (that is the person that first uploaded or posted the image on Facebook). Alternatively, outside of Facebook, you can use other reverse image search services or Google image search to do reverse image search on any picture taken from someone’s Facebook account.

Now you may asked how can I do a reverse image search on Facebook photo? See answers from above sections in bullet points.

Does Google Reverse Image Search Facebook?

If you can identify the number Facebook uses to identify the photo source and search Facebook for it, then Google Images can try to find photos that are like the one you uploaded that matches Facebook profiles with a picture upload or URL. TinEye can also help you to do a reverse image search Facebook.

Can You Teach Me More About FaceMatch?

You can use the new Google app that matches your face with paintings. A new app from Google automatically and accurately matches your face to a famous painting.

Here’s how to use the Google app.

  1. Download the Google Arts and Culture App from the App store (available on iPhone and  Android).
  2. Open the app to see its screen.
  3. Scroll down to see “is your portrait in a museum?”
  4. Tap “Get Started”
  5. Take a picture of yourself.
  6. See your matches.

You can download your painting matches and use it for your Facebook profile pic.

In Conclusion

Now you’ve learned about Facebook reverse image search and finding a Facebook profile from a picture using several methods and techniques. In summary, you’ve also learned how to search a Facebook user from a picture.

Over to You

Have you ever perform a Facebook reverse image search before using a photo ID, URL or its advanced search? What was your search result all about and we love to hear your thoughts and feedbacks in the comment section below.