While scrolling the vast expanse of the internet, it’s quite common to stumble upon videos that pique your interest, leaving you wondering about their origins. Whether it’s a short movie clip, a snippet of a documentary, or even a viral video that you’re eager to know more about. Undoubtedly, the number of videos we encounter today can be overwhelming, and pinpointing their source can become a challenging task.
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No worries! The reverse video search is a digital technology that helps you retrace video content back to the source. In this comprehensive article, we’ll explore the reverse video search process and walk you through the steps to effectively reverse search a video so that you’ll never left in the dark about a video’s origin again.
What is Reverse Video Search?
You got a query? You rush to the internet and input words or phrases into a search engine to find relevant pages or media.
Reverse video searching flips this process on its head: instead of using words to find videos, you use a video to track down where else it might be featured online.
Search engines like Google decode the color patterns and pixel compositions of your video to hunt for replicas or closely related matches on the web. While it might not always yield a 100% match, it offers a glimpse into the digital footprint of that specific video, helping determine its origin.
Why Do You Need to Reverse-Search a Video?
- To find out unofficial shares of your video: Content creators can spot if their videos are posted elsewhere without permission. Find it, then ask for it to be removed or credited properly.
- Finding the original or extended video versions: Certain platforms, like Reddit or Imgur, impose restrictions on the file size of videos. If you ever come across a clip that feels incomplete or cut short, use a reverse video search to potentially locate its more comprehensive version.
- Verify the authenticity of the content: In an age of misinformation, verifying content has never been more crucial. With reverse video searching, you can cross-check the origins and contexts of videos, ensuring they are genuine and trustworthy.
How to Reverse Search a Video on Google?
While Google does not offer a tool for video reverse search yet, there’s a clever hack you can use. By extracting images/screenshots from a video and using Google’s powerful reverse image search, you can find what’s behind any clip.
Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you trace back to the video’s original source or related content.
Method 1: Using Google Images Using Screenshots Images of Videos
Google Image, a powerful tool for reverse image searches, has recently incorporated Google Lens. This feature intensifies the search process, digging deeper into the web for related content.
Follow the steps below to use this method for video searching:
- Play the desired video on your PC, be it Mac or Windows.
- Pause at clear, distinguishable frames that capture the essence of the video.
Bonus Tip:
Windows users can use the Snipping Tool for this task. Mac users can use the Command + Shift + 4 shortcut. Drag the cursor over the desired frame to capture it.
- Launch your preferred browser and navigate to Google Images.
- Spot the Camera icon? Click on it.
- Choose ‘Upload a file.’
- Select one of the frames you’ve previously captured.
- Google dives deep into its Lens tool, scouring the internet for matches or related content.
If the search results aren’t up to par, you can tweak the selected area or opt for ‘Find Image Source.’ This takes you to a page showcasing results tailored to the exact frame you’ve uploaded.
To enhance the accuracy of your search, upload the other frames sequentially. This approach ensures a comprehensive search, increasing your chances of unearthing all relevant web content linked to your video.
For those on mobile devices, Google Lens offers an effective solution to reverse search videos. Whether you’re an Android enthusiast or an Apple aficionado, here’s how to employ this powerful tool.
Method 2: Reverse Video Search with Google Lens
Google Lens offers an intuitive way to reverse-search videos by analyzing keyframes. This method is ideal for mobile users as it is both efficient and user-friendly.
Let’s have a look at how Google Lens can be used to track down video origins or discover related content across different platforms.
For Android Users:
- Play the video and pause to take screenshots of significant frames.
- Launch the Google Photos app and navigate to the ‘Screenshots’ album.
- Tap on the desired screenshot. Click on the Lens icon located typically at the bottom.
- Adjust the cropping if necessary. Google Lens will then delve into its database to present related content.
- You can toggle between ‘Search’, ‘Shopping’, ‘Places’, and ‘Dining’ to narrow down your results and get the most relevant matches. Invoke Google Assistant and utter “open Lens”.
- Select the video screenshot to kick off the search. For those who want a dedicated experience, there’s a standalone Google Lens app available for Android.
For iPhone or iPad Users:
- If you haven’t already, download the Google Photos app from the App Store.
- As you play the video, pause and capture important frames that you want to reverse search.
- Open the Google Photos app and select the screenshot.
- At the bottom, you’ll spot the Lens icon. Tap on it to initiate the reverse search process.
There you have it! With these two methods, tracing back video origins or finding related content is a breeze, regardless of the device you use.
Final Thoughts
So, here is a straightforward guide on using Google’s prowess to search using images or videos. While they might not offer bulletproof results every time, these techniques often hit the mark. Ideal for tracking down the origins of those viral clips circulating on WhatsApp or Facebook, these tools are invaluable.