Detailed Instructions for Reverse Video Search on Any Device

SEO
Say, you saw a short piece of an interesting video on TikTok or an ad on YouTube and want to know where the footage came from. In this case, you should figure out how to reverse video search. Although this feature is relatively new and doesn’t deliver entirely accurate results, it brings many benefits to professionals working in the digital sphere.

Detailed Instructions for Reverse Video Search on Any Device

What Is Reverse Video Search?

The good news is that if having a screenshot, you can find exactly which videos contain the same frame. Leading search services have been already offering this function. It allows you to check who used similar materials as well as where and when they were used.

A small clarification: currently, you can use only screenshots. There are no services that utilize video clips for reverse video search. Microsoft, Google, and Apple are conducting experiments with such technologies, but they are still far from perfect.

For searching, you can use both well-known platforms and third-party sites, which have their own advantages. They may be faster, more accurate, and easier to use or offer more features.

How Exactly Does Reverse Video Search Work?

A screenshot serves as a starting point. Three methods are used to analyze its similarity to other videos. They can work separately or together, complementing each other.

The most common method is software code analysis. An image consists of millions of dots — pixels. The sequence of their location within a picture is determined by a mathematical function. Using the Fourier transform, it can be reproduced first by software code and then by ones and zeros. To speed up image processing, checksums are inserted into it, which are, in fact, rules for filling certain fragments.

The system looks for matches exactly based on checksums, which saves a lot of time — the process speeds up 10-1000 times, depending on the resolution and other specifics of an image. The situation with videos is somewhat more complicated since a server needs to index and process a very large amount of information. For example, a 30-second video on TikTok usually contains 900 frames, and a standard series episode consists of about 150-175 thousand frames.

Therefore, reverse video finders use checksums. These code fragments describe the approximate content of the frames located between them. Such multi-stage information compression speeds up the work yet reduces accuracy. Also, changes in video playback speed or color gamut often throw the algorithm off track.

That’s why reverse search technology became widely available only with the emergence of self-trained neural networks. They use a different way of recognition. The image is simplified as much as possible — objects depicted on it are transformed into geometric shapes with captions. This map can be compared with other frames based on various parameters, such as description, colors, composition, etc. This method delivers more results, which is a plus, but the neural network often selects videos similar in appearance yet different in content.

The third method is contextual search. The system finds images similar to your screenshot. It examines information from a web page and uses standard tools to find a target website. This method is very slow and inaccurate. Therefore, it is rarely employed separately and used only to increase the accuracy of the above search methods.

What Is This Technology Used For?

Due to its complexity, weak algorithm optimization, and huge resource consumption, reverse video lookup is still available in the beta version only. Developers cannot guarantee its high accuracy yet, but it’s already benefiting thousands of digital professionals. You can try and use it too.

Find the video source

You watched a short excerpt from a lecture, educational video, or movie and want to add it to your site. However, you need permission from the owner — the law is tough on copyright infringers.

Of course, you can ask for it in the comments. But it is far from certain that you will get an answer quickly or receive it at all. Therefore, it is better to turn to search engine algorithms. They may not always be accurate, but they are fast and honest.

Find duplicate videos

Let’s make a U-turn with the above situation: you recorded a great video, which attracts user attention, improves site conversions, and increases the number of leads. Most competitors are honest with you and respect your efforts. But there will always be someone who will try to get a bigger share with lower costs.

Reverse search technology enables multimedia services monitoring. If it finds duplicate content, you can take appropriate measures in time — send a letter demanding removal, file a complaint, or seek legal help. It’s much faster, cheaper, and easier than manually checking YouTube and other platforms.

Find related content

Who are these people in the video? Does this artist have other tracks? Where is the building seen in the background actually located? So many questions and so few answers. But you can still find them without turning to a private detective — thanks to the option to reverse search a video by image.

The results page will take you to the site hosting the multimedia content. It can be YouTube, another popular service, or an independent resource. In any case, a video is usually accompanied by a title, description, and comments. You will be able to source the necessary information from them.

Find the full version of a video

The first thing that comes to mind is searching for a movie using a frame from its trailer. In fact, this is a very plausible scenario. Most likely, it will take you to Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, or other streaming services. They spend a lot of money to make their content easily accessible to users of all possible devices.

Another probable option is searching for full videos by snippets shown on TikTok, YouTube, Instagram Reels, Facebook, or other social networks. It will lead you to interesting blogs, educational channels, or simply to positivity sources. It’s much faster than asking the person who uploaded the short clip — you’ll spend seconds instead of hours or even days.

How to Use Reverse Video Search on a PC (Mac or Windows)?

Let us remind you that the system processes only images so far. So, the first thing you need to do is save a screenshot. This possibility is provided by the standard functionality of the operating systems — just click the Print Screen button and check the folder with images in personal documents. You can also use improved tools. For example, LightShot allows you to select a desired screen area, draw on it, and save the result in its cloud storage.

Google reverse video search

The Images service, which perfectly finds the same or similar pictures, helps in this case too. To use reverse video search on Google, follow this instruction:

  1. Take a screenshot and save it in the computer’s memory.
  2. Open images.google.com in your browser.
  3. Click the camera button next to the search bar.

  1. Drag the screenshot file into the window, or find it in the device’s file system.
  2. Explore links to popular multimedia services, such as YouTube, Vimeo, and others, on the results page. Browse the matches and find the link you need.
Pros  Cons 
Allows you to enter keywords to improve search accuracy  Very sensitive to screenshot resolution
Gives results in a fraction of a second — few services can compete with Google in server computing power  Low search accuracy on third-party platforms 
A very simple interface familiar to billions of users  Few additional settings
One of the best and most accurate search services on YouTube  

Bing reverse video search

Recently, Microsoft’s service has been gaining popularity, becoming a real competitor to Google. One of the reasons is the very convenient search for multimedia content. Follow these steps to work with a video:

  1. Take a screenshot.
  2. Open bing.com.
  3. Select the image section at the top or click the camera button in the search bar.

  1. Download the file by selecting it from the computer’s memory or dragging & dropping it.
  2. Search for video services on the results page.
Pros  Cons 
There is an interesting function for uploading photos from a camera. It is really convenient if you have synchronized your smartphone with your computer. You can take a picture of a poster or TV screen. No filtering by date, size, and other parameters 
Image cropping function — choose which part of a picture will be used in the search.  The accuracy of searching on YouTube is significantly worse compared with Google.
Works well with stock databases, allowing you to find videos for your creative effort.  

Searching with specialized tools

Google and Bing are handy but far from the best tools when it comes to video. The same can be said about their competitors Yandex and Yahoo. If you need an accurate and convenient search by video, we recommend using other services, which have some unique advantages.

Berify

One of the first independent platforms that created its own algorithm based on artificial intelligence. It is much more complex and accurate than Google and Bing but also more time-consuming. It even has an API to integrate with your sites and apps.

The search is organized as simply as possible: you drag an image into the site window and wait for results.

Pros  Cons 
Very accurate service — it finds correct results about 1.5 times more often than popular search engines. The search is slow — sometimes, you have to wait a few minutes.
You can connect social media accounts and cloud storage for automatic search. The trial version is designed for 5 pictures only. Subscriptions start at $5.95 per month for 1,000 images.
If you have an account with the service, it saves the results, allowing you to quickly go back to them.  

Shutterstock

A popular platform for artists, designers, photographers, and webmasters. It searches for videos only in its own database, but that’s enough to find creative clips and detect plagiarism. The instructions for using the service look like this:

  1. Take a screenshot.
  2. Open shutterstock.com in your browser.
  3. Click the button with a camera and a plus sign in the search bar.

  1. Download the file from your computer.
  2. Get results.
Pros  Cons 
Delivers results quickly — the search takes about 3-5 seconds Professional use of each video is paid separately
Hundreds of thousands of high-quality moderated videos   
Possibility to select tags for getting more precise results  

TinEye

The site is very popular among people working in the digital sphere. It has several advantages — speed, free-of-charge basis, and advanced selection settings. The reverse video search engine works like this:

  1. Save a screenshot.
  2. Open tineye.com.
  3. Click the Download button.

  1. Find the file in the computer’s memory.
  2. Click Search.
  3. Get results.
Pros  Cons 
There is filtering by the best matches, image editing degree, upload date, and file size. Better results can be obtained if the image has a logo or an inscription.
The search is completely anonymous — the site does not store any data about users.  
You can even copy content from your clipboard.  

Tecxipio

One of the few services that allow you to reverse search a video at its finest. It offers a professional API to connect a large database.

Its algorithm processes the video content automatically and performs monitoring. This is a very convenient option for professional use.

Pros  Cons 
Real video search The subscription starts from $15 per month. The cost depends on the content quantity, so working with large amounts of multimedia will be expensive.
A huge set of algorithms — by visual content, tags, file checksums, formats, etc.  
Works in automatic mode and shows notifications in third-party applications  

How to Use Reverse Video Search on a Smartphone (iOS or Android)?

The standard way to save a screenshot on Android is to press the screen lock and volume-down buttons. On iOS, you need to hold down the lock and volume-up buttons. There are other methods available in the main menu — three-finger gestures, shaking, and quick tapping on the touch screen.

Using Chrome

It’s the easiest way to reverse video search on iPhone or Android smartphones. Install the Chrome browser and the Google Lens app to make the search as fast and simple as possible.

The sequence of actions looks like this:

  1. Go to the start page of the browser.
  2. Click the button in the form of a camera.
  3. Select a screenshot from the memory of the mobile device.
  4. Get results.
Pros  Cons 
There are additional functions — inscriptions recognition and translation; search for places, goods, and restaurants. The method works correctly only in Chrome. Even the standard Google interface in Android does not give such an effect.
The result is very fast and relatively accurate, especially for YouTube. Accuracy on other platforms is not high.
Simple interface — everything is done in a few clicks.  
You can choose any part of an image for search.  

In the standard search engines interface  

If you have a favorite browser and don’t really want to choose Chrome instead, you should learn how to reverse search a video on other platforms:

  1. Take a screenshot.
  2. Open google.com or bing.com.
  3. Enter the browser settings.
  4. Click the Desktop Site button.

  1. Select the camera icon in the search bar.
  2. Download an image from the device’s memory.
  3. Get results.
Pros  Cons 
The method is available to owners of any device. You will have to spend a little more time and effort.

Reverse Video Search: Should You Use It?

This technology has not yet been widely used due to its complexity. However, we saw the same thing when Google and its competitors first introduced reverse photo search. In just a few years, it turned from a fun feature into a powerful tool for SEO specialists, designers, webmasters, and even lawyers.

Today, you can reverse search a video if you are interested in technical details — searching for plagiarism or gathering information about a video. If you have another interest, it is better to choose alternative tools — search by keywords on YouTube or social media. It is not so technologically advanced and impressive, but it is fast and effective.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a reverse video search?

The largest search engines and some third-party platforms offer this service. However, most of them are limited to matching videos by image — a single frame or screenshot.

What is reverse video search?

This is an opportunity to find a video you need by a single frame or fragment. Currently, the technology is available in the beta version only, so the developers do not guarantee high accuracy.

How does reverse video search work?

Traditional algorithms look for complete matches by program code fragments, while modern neural networks spot partial matches with the help of simplified maps based on individual frames.

How to use reverse video search on a computer?

Take a screenshot. Open a search engine site, and go to the images section if necessary. Click the Download button or the camera icon. Select the required file and get results.

How to use reverse video search on a smartphone?

An easy way is to open the search bar in Chrome, click the download image button, and select a screenshot. An alternative method is to go to the site of a search engine and open its desktop version in the browser menu.

Kyryk Oleksandr
SEO Consultant

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