Reverse image search
A profile photo you have your doubts about? Find out where else it appears, because stolen photos are the number one sign of a fake profile.
A reverse image search works from a picture rather than words and shows where that picture appears online. At StoryCheck the check starts with the person's phone number; once your report opens after checkout, you add the photo inside it, and an exact-match search finds the pages hosting that very image while a visual-similarity search surfaces close variants. Results are possible matches rather than certainty.
Exact matches
The pages hosting the very same image: profiles, websites and adverts that have used that exact photo.
Visual similarity
Images that closely resemble yours, which catches cropped, mirrored and lightly edited copies.
Recognise a fake profile
Stolen photos are the number one sign of a catfish. A photo turning up under a different name elsewhere deserves a proper look.
- 1
Choose the photo
Save the picture you want to check, for example the profile photo that gave you pause.
- 2
Start the check with the phone number
The check starts with the person's phone number. After checkout your private report opens, and that is where you add the photo.
- 3
See where the photo appears
Inside the report the exact-match and visual-similarity searches run, and you see the pages where the image has appeared.
Common questions
What is a reverse image search?
A search that begins with a picture rather than words: it returns the pages hosting the exact same image, along with images that look visually similar. That tells you whether a profile photo has been lifted from somewhere else on the internet.
How does the photo check work at StoryCheck?
The check starts with the person's phone number. After checkout your report opens and you add the photo inside it; the report then runs an exact-match search that finds pages hosting that very image, and a visual-similarity search. Nothing is searched before that point.
Can it help me recognise a catfish?
Yes, and that is its most common use. Stolen photos are the number one sign of a fake profile: if the photo appears on other pages under different names, that is a strong signal the story does not hold together.
Does StoryCheck use facial recognition?
No. StoryCheck does not use facial recognition or any form of biometric identification. The check looks for exact copies of the image and visually similar images, and nothing beyond that.
Is the search private, and what happens to the photo?
The search is completely private and the person is never notified. The photo you upload is deleted automatically once the search has run; it is not stored or used for anything else.
Image checking guides
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Who keeps calling me?
The same unknown Irish number ringing again and again? How to tell marketing from an automated dialler, a real person or a scam, and how to stop it.
Is this number a scam?
The signals that reliably identify an Irish phone scam, why wangiri keeps returning, and exactly what to do if money or details have already gone.
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A text claiming a parcel is held and a customs fee is due. How the real An Post, DPD and Fastway messages differ from the fake ones. 1M+ lookups.
Is my partner on dating apps?
What a number or email address can genuinely reveal, what cannot be checked at all, and how to read a result without reading too much into it. 1M+ lookups.
Find out who is really behind the number
The check is private and takes about 60 seconds. The person is not notified and never finds out you looked.
Check a number now