You probably have thousands of photos scattered between your mobile phone, tablet, camera, and laptop, with no easy way to tell which images are where. Google Photos is a free and easy way to organize and sync all your pictures, so you can access them no matter where you are and what device you’re using. That is why Google Photos is one of the best sites for sharing and storing photos. If you’re wondering how to find my photos on Google, how to add photos, and how to get information about an image, here are the answers.
How to find my photos in the Google search engine?
Google is the most famous among internet search engines and stores tons of information. But did you know that you can search for images on Google using other related images.
It is possible to search by images in Chrome, Firefox and Safari browsers. Next we will see what you can do with the images through the Google search engine.
Upload images
If you want to upload an image to Google, you must follow these steps:
- Open the browser on your computer, such as Firefox or Chrome.
- Sign in to Google Images .
- Click on Search by image.
- Click Upload an Image and then Choose File or Browse.
- Select an image from the computer.
- Click Open or Select.
Drop and drag images
To drag and drop images you must use the Chrome or Firefox browser. If you want to drag and drop images, here’s what to do:
- Open the Chrome or Firefox browser on your computer.
- Go to Google Images.
- Find the image file on your computer that you are going to use to perform the search.
- Click on the image.
- Drag the image while holding down the mouse and drop it into the search box.
Search with URLs
To search for images through URLs, the steps are:
- Open a web browser on your computer.
- Navigate to the web where the image you are going to use to do the search is located.
- Right click on the image to copy the URL.
- Click Copy Image Address.
- Access Google Images.
- Click on Search by image.
- Click Paste Image URL.
- Paste the URL into the text box.
- Click on Search by image.
Google may store the URLs you search for in order to improve its products and services. But those URLs are not saved in your browsing history.
Search with images from web pages
In case you want to search for photos on Google with images from web pages, the steps are as follows:
- On your computer, open the Chrome browser.
- Enter the web that contains the image you want to use to do the search.
- Right click on the image.
- Click on Search image in Google. The results will be displayed in a new tab.
Find my photos with Google Lens on Android and iOS
To search photos with Google Lens on Android devices, you need to follow these steps:
- Open the Google app on the Android device.
- Click Discover at the bottom.
- In the search bar, tap Google Lens.
- The following options will appear:
- Take a photo: use the camera to point at an object and tap Search.
- Upload an existing photo: At the top left, tap Gallery and select a photo from your album.
- Click on a white dot, if it appears, or use your finger or a stylus to circle part of the image.
If you want to search images on Google with iPhone:
- Open the Google app on the iPhone.
- Click on Google Lens, in the search bar.
- The possibilities that appear are:
- Take a photo: Use the camera to point at an object and tap Search.
- Upload an existing photo: At the top left, tap Gallery and select a photo from your album.
- Tap a white dot, or use your finger or a stylus to circle part of the image.
What do the results include?
If you use images to search, you’ll get the following results:
- similar images
- Web pages containing the images
- Other image sizes used to perform the search
Compatible browsers
It is possible to use almost all existing browsers to perform image searches on Google. The most used are Firefox, Chrome and Safari.
Find images to use and share
When you do a search on Google, you can filter the results to locate images with licenses where it is stated that you can use them freely.
Please note that images may be subject to copyright.
You must make sure that the license is legal and that you read the reuse terms carefully before reusing an image. It is possible that the license establishes the obligation to mention the creator of the image when using it.
Use the “Usage Rights” filter to locate images that have licensing information. Google filters images by license based on information provided by providers or the websites where they are hosted.
You should always refer to the license information for images. Click on the “License Details” link to check the information with both the license provider and the hosting website.
To reuse images you must:
- Go to images.google.com.
- Find an image.
- Click on Tools, below the search box.
- To be able to view images that have license information, tap Usage rights, and then select a license type.
- Click on the image you want to reuse.
- To access information on how to license and use the image, click the License Details option below the image in the right pane.
If you want to share an image:
- Go to images.google.com.
- Find an image.
- Click on the image.
- In the right panel, click Share below the image.
What to do if the photos do not load?
If your images load slowly or don’t show up when you search images.google.com, you should follow these steps.
After each step, perform the image search to see if the issue has been resolved. If it’s fixed, you can skip the rest of the steps.
- Try private browsing mode
- Clear cache and cookies
- Disable all toolbars and extensions
- Activate JavaScript
In case you’ve followed all of these steps and the images still won’t load, you can post your issue on the Google Search Forum for an expert to help you fix it.
How to add a photo to Google?
To include a photo in Google search results, you must add it to a web page along with a description of it. It is not possible to upload images directly to search results, but if those images have been published on a website they can appear in search results.
To add your photo to Google, the steps are as follows:
- Post the image to a website. In order for your photos and images to appear in Google search results, you must publish them on a website. If you have no website, you can use the following free content hosting services:
- Use Blogger to include images in a blog.
- Design your own website with Google Sites.
- Verify that the image you posted is searchable and public. By posting the image to a public, searchable website, you cause Google to locate it and include it in the Image index. When uploading the image, please verify that the page it is added to is publicly accessible.
To get your image to appear in Google search results, follow these tips:
- Add a description of the image. Include text somewhere near the image; it can be a label or a title. This information allows Google to better interpret the content of the image and link it to related searches.
- Upload high-quality photos. Good published images allow you to attract traffic to your website.
Google image recognition is not immediate, you must be patient. Images uploaded to the Web will not immediately appear in search results. It takes some time for Google to index your website before images can appear in search results.
Get information about an image in Google Images
It is possible to obtain information about an image only when the owner of the image or the web page has provided it. Image owners can provide copyright and license details, among other information.
Image data can come from two sources:
- Data on credits, creators and copyrights comes from an image file that meets the standards of the International Press Telecommunications Council (IPTC).
- “Get this image at” and “License Details” information is derived from IPTC or structured metadata.
How to find my photos in Google Photos?
You can also use Google Photos to search for images you can’t find. Let’s see how to find those photos on the computer, on Android and on iPhone and iPad.
From the computer
To search for photos in Google Photos using the computer you must:
- Check which account you are using. If you use another account, it will appear that some photos have disappeared. Is the account you’re signed in with the same account you backed up the photos with? If it’s not the same, sign out and sign back in with the correct account.
- Find photos that have disappeared after a while. If there are photos that no longer appear, the date may be different than expected. If a photo was added from a device with different date and time settings, the timestamp may be wrong.
- Open photos.google.com/search/_tra_ on your computer and search for the photo.
- If you can’t find it, search for it with the correct dates or keywords. At the top, write what you want to search for; for example, the name of someone you’ve tagged in your photos.
- If the search returns no results, try other keywords or wait 3-5 days to try again. Photos may take some time to become available for search.
The causes of photos not appearing in Google Photos can be:
- Backup is disabled. It could be that you deleted a photo before Google Photos created a corresponding backup. If so, you may not be able to get it back.
- The photo has been deleted. If it’s still in the trash, you might be able to get it back. The photo may have been permanently deleted. If it has been in the trash for more than 60 days, it can no longer be recovered.
On Android
To find your photos on Android devices, follow these recommendations:
- Check the account you are using
- Use other apps like Facebook or Instagram to find photos:
- Open the Google Photos app on the Android device.
- At the bottom, tap Collection.
- Under “Photos on device,” check to see if it’s in the device folders.
Create backup copies of your device’s folders to view photos from other apps in Photos view.
iPhone and iPad
To find the photos from Google Photos on iPhone or iPad, first of all you have to also verify the account you are using and use the same one used when backing up those photos.
The photo may have been backed up to Google Photos and then deleted from the device.
Before you delete files from your phone, make sure Google Photos has finished backing up your photos.
The above content published at Collaborative Research Group is for informational purposes only and has been developed by referring to reliable sources and recommendations from experts. We do not have any contact with official entities nor do we intend to replace the information that they emit.
