If you are someone who is looking to do a reverse search a video, this blog post is just for you. Reverse Video Search is the latest search trend we have witnessed lately. There are a lot of people searching for videos that they watched somewhere on the internet but didn’t know the source of that video. If you are a video content creator, reverse video search can also help you from exploiting your copyrights on the video.
Here we are going to discuss some of the best ways to reverse search video. As of now, Google is not capable to search for a video but other AI-powered tools can detect the source of the video and help you find the full video or source of the video you’ve been looking for.
Video Search is something like your usual Google search but here we are going to search by video instead of typing the text. For that, you have to trim the video file and then upload it to the reverse video search tool. Some tools also support screenshots from the videos but for precise results, use the video instead of a screenshot.
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How to Do Reverse Video Search
Before we finally start searching for videos, here is a thing you should be aware of. Most of the reverse video search tools do not allow you to upload a full fledge video to reverse search. It also makes sense because otherwise, their servers will be loaded with unnecessary data in the form of videos.
So, in order to reverse search the video, you need to take a screenshot of one of the frames from the video and upload it. This way, the online tool will look for similar colors, frames, and pixels in the screenshot and will give you the proper results in the form of a video.
Taking screenshots is super easy on Mac & Windows. Here is a quick guide on how to take screenshots.
On Mac:
If you are using Mac, press and hold Shift + Command + 3 together to take a screenshot. If you are using the Touch Bar model of the Macbook, you can also touch the ‘Screenshot camera icon‘ on the touch bar and adjust the screen you want to capture and do.
On Windows:
On a Windows laptop or PC, you can press the Windows key + Print Screen key together. You will find the captured screenshot directly in the screenshot folder. On Windows laptops, the print screen key is usually denoted as the PrtScn key.
You can also press PrintScreen (PrtScn) key alone but this will copy the whole screen into the clipboard. For saving it, you need to open Paint or MS Powerpoint and then paste the screenshot to save it. This is a complex process for some. Use Windows + PrtScn key instead.
Now that you have screenshots, let’s reverse search video using these screenshots.
5 Ways to Reverse Video Search in 2023
There are a couple of ways to do an online reverse video search. We have tried to find the best ways that you can use to search a video. These reverse video search engine still needs perfection but for now, they will serve you well.
Table of Content
1. Shutterstock
If you ever searched for stock photos or videos, you already know Shutterstock. Shutterstock is the biggest source for stock photos and videos. Bloggers, YouTubers, and other creative professionals use Shutterstock to download photos and videos for their work. Along with stock photos and videos, they also have a reverse video search tool. You just need to upload the photo from the video and it will search for the source of that video.
If you are a content creator at Shutterstock and someone is using that content without paying or getting permission for it, you can use reverse video search to find the platform they are using your photos/videos on, violating copyrights, and then take legal action against them. Other than that, you can also use reverse video search to find similar videos for your project. There are endless possibilities with this technology.
Go to the Shutterstock Reverse Video Search tool here.
2. Berify
Berify is a dedicated reverse video search tool that is made just to find photos and videos on the internet. Unlike other tools which are based on Google, Bing, and other search engines, Berify has its algorithm and data that crawls over 800 million videos and photos to give you precise results.
To reverse video search, first, you need to go to Berify and signup for the service. Once you are done with signup, upload the screenshot you have taken. Wait for a couple of minutes to process and search for a similar photo in other videos. Once Berify found something related to the screenshot, it will show you right on the screen.
The good thing is, your results are saved in your Berify account so that you can access them anytime you want. Sometimes it takes way too much time to process the image but it will notify you in the email if Berify found something. You don’t need to sit and wait for the results.
It is the best reverse video search tool for anyone who is creating video content or anyone dealing with photo/video content like lawyers, bloggers, vloggers, models, and professional photographers/videographers.
Berify is a freemium tool that comes with different plans. In the free version, you can search up to 5 images at a single time and find the platform they have been using without your permission, you will get an email notification when someone uses your photo, and you can upload a single photo from your computer or smartphone.
There are 2 paid plans starting from $5.95/mo that goes up to $24.95/mo. In the small plan, you get 1000 image searches at a single time, can connect your social media like Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, Flickr, 500PX, Tumblr, Dropbox and will get notifications when someone used your images or videos even from the social media profiles.
In the big plan, the $24.95/mo one, you get 6000 image searches. You can connect the sitemap, social media profiles just like a smaller plan. Berify is indeed a great tool but if you are looking for free reverse video search, this is not for you.
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3. TinEye
Here we have another awesome tool to reverse video search. You can simply upload the photo on TinEye and you will get all the places on the web where that photo or video has been used.
TinEye shows all the websites and platforms where that particular video or photo has been uploaded. If that violates your copyrights, you can take action against them. Apart from that, there might be several other reasons to reverse video search online.
TinEye is a free tool for reverse video search and there is no upload limit. You can also add Chrome Extension for faster access to the tool.
4. Bing Visual Search
For reverse video search, we have to follow the same pattern on different platforms. You need to take a screenshot of any frame from the video and upload the screenshot on different tools.
Bing Visual Search is another great tool for reverse video search. Here is how to use Bing Visual Search for Reverse Video Search:
- Play the video you wanted to search for.
- Take a screenshot.
- Upload on Bing Visual Search
I use one of the popular Linkin Park songs ‘In the End’ and uploaded it on Bing Visual Search. Here are the results.
Not gonna lie but Bing’s visual search worked like a charm. It not only shows the results of the video but even recognizes the man inside the video and showed the pictures from interviews, public appearances, and live shows. It’s like, Bing knows that the man inside the video is Mike Shinoda.
If you are looking for a quick solution to reverse video search, Bing Visual Search is something you should definitely try. It might work for you as well.
5. Google Image Search
Google is the biggest search engine on the face of the earth. You can literally search anything on Google but can it be used for reverse video search? Google Reverse Video Search is not possible as of now but it does support image search. You can add an image on Google and it will crawl it around the web for the results.
We just used Bing’s Visual Search for reverse video search and it worked brilliantly. I uploaded the same screenshot on Google Image search and here is what Google gave for the results.
Google showed me totally irrelevant results. There is nothing to do with the video’s screenshot rather it showed me similar-looking images which are the same in color palette and dark lighting. Google can read the image title, and colors but it failed to recognize the intention of the user search query.
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Google still uses the Image’s metadata and keywords to look around. It doesn’t recognize the image or video from Google Search yet. Bing Visual Search is definitely a better tool for reverse video search than Google Search.
How to Reverse Video Search on Smartphone
We have already done reverse video searches on the Desktop or on Web but what if you want to reverse search a video on a smartphone? Here is how to do that.
There are 2 good ways to do that. Both are unreliable and don’t always give accurate results but yes sometimes, it works.
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1. Google Lens
It is a Long Shot but it is definitely worth trying. I did multiple video searches and out of 10, 6 times it gave me satisfactory results. Here is how to use Google Lens for reverse video search.
1. Just like any other searches we have done before. Take a screenshot of one of the frames from the video.
2. Now open Google Lens on your phone. You can download Google Lens from Play Store and App Store for free.
3. You will see all the screenshots below. Choose the screenshot you wanted to do a reverse video search on.
4. Wait for a few seconds and you will see exact or similar results.
The results on Google Lens are ambiguous. In my testing, I found the related video at the top and after that, it was similar results that includes similar colors, and scenes. For desirable results, you can also try multiple screenshots from the same video so that Google can scan other photos for accurate results.
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2. Bing Image Search
As we already discussed Bing is for reverse video search but if you want to do it on a smartphone, here is how to reverse video search on a smartphone using Bing.
1. Open any web browser on your smartphone. I’m using Google Chrome.
2. Now go to bing.com.
3. From the menu section at the top right corner, scroll all the way down and tap on ‘Desktop Site’. This way, you will be able to access the desktop version of Bing on a smartphone.
4. Once the desktop version of Bing is opened, at the extreme right of the search bar, tap on the photo icon in the middle.
5. Click on Browse and open the screenshot you have taken for reverse video search.
You will see the results on the next screen. Bing actually gave accurate results.
These are 2 ways to reverse video search on a smartphone. Both Google Lens and Bing worked well for me and they will work for you as well. As of now, we don’t have a particular app that can give you accurate results for video searches.
A lot of tech companies are now providing APIs using which developers will be able to create an app that can provide 100% accurate results. Until then, we have to follow the hit & trial approach for getting the desired video reverse search results.
Reverse Video Search: Final Words
A reverse Video Search is a need for an hour. There are a lot of content creators who are creating great content for the web and there are people who are using it without the permission of the original creator. In that case, Reverse Video Search can help in protecting their rights and take action against them.
Some users even search by video to know the original creator of the content and to give them credit or ask for permission to use their content, collaborating with them. It is not always about copyrights.
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The above-mentioned tools for reverse video search are a good start. To be honest, these tools are not precise yet, they still need a lot of improvements but to some extent, they do work. The web is so dense and it is not possible to crawl each and every image and video available online.
You can try multiple tools for reverse video search and who knows what worked out but as of now, no video search engine can give you precise results every time.
