man on laptop trying to find someone with a picture

Learning how to find someone with just a picture doesn’t need to be as difficult as you might think. In today’s digital age, there are plenty of profile pictures and other pictures of individuals online that you can use to find more details about that specific person. 

Our article gives you tips and pointers on how to find someone with a picture and what to do if you need more information about a person whose picture you are searching with.

Why Would You Want to Find Someone With a Picture?

It can be easy to come across someone’s picture on the internet, but less straightforward to find information about who a person is and where the picture might be sourced from. 

The most common reason for finding someone with a picture occurs when you come across someone’s picture online or on social media. You may want more information about that person, including details of their name or personal information, and information about whether or not they are a celebrity.

Sometimes you may have a picture of a long-lost friend or relative and want to know if you can find more information on their whereabouts using just their picture. 

It’s important to keep in mind that using someone’s picture to find more details about them is perfectly acceptable and legal. However, you risk issues when you use the information you discover about someone to harass them or otherwise commit a crime. 

Make sure that you are keeping the information you find to yourself or only discovering it for your own curiosity, instead of using it to threaten or harass someone.

Is It Possible to Find Someone With a Picture?

If you’ve never done it before, it might seem impossible to find someone with a picture. It is actually surprisingly easy to find details about someone using just their picture. 

Keep in mind that finding someone’s details with their picture does rely on the assumption that this person will have other accounts that are linked to the picture you are searching with. You also have to assume that they have an online presence in general. Without this online presence, it can be difficult, but not impossible, to find someone with just a picture.

How to Find Someone With a Picture

There are a few different methods you can use to find someone with a picture. We discuss these methods below to give you a better idea of how to find the details you need about someone once you have their picture.

Reverse Image Search Tools

Reverse image search tools are some of the most important and helpful search tools when it comes to using a picture to find details about someone. The most common reverse image search tool is connected to Google, and you use this tool by taking a picture of the person you want to research and uploading it into the reverse image search tool.

Once you run the search, Google will look throughout the internet to find other websites where this picture is listed. You can then look through the search results to find details about the person including websites that they are active on, their name, and even their contact details.

Internet Search

Performing an internet search for someone is similar to performing a reverse image search. However, once you run your initial reverse image search, you are likely to have someone’s information such as their name and general location. 

You can then input this information into your favorite internet browser, such as Google Chrome, and look for the person’s social media websites or public profiles. You can compare the pictures you come across with the picture that you have of a person to verify their identity and learn more about them.

People Search Tools

People search tools, like ours at Information.com, are convenient online tools for finding out information about a person. You do need to have a person’s name and general location before you use this tool, though. You can gather this information from your reverse image search, and then input the name and location details into your chosen people’s search tool.

Once you’re on the search, you will be able to review the details about a person. These might include any social media accounts that you have, their phone number and e-mail address, and their current or previous addresses. People search tools use public record information to give you a complete picture of the person you are searching for.

Social Media Search

Social media searches are helpful when you need to compare the picture you have of someone to their public profile. 

With your reverse image search, you may be directed to someone’s social media accounts. You can look through these accounts to find more information about someone including their relatives, location, and other details that are part of someone’s social media profile.

If you are trying to keep your search more subtle, take note of which social media websites you are searching. Some websites do show the person whose profile you are viewing that you have viewed it.

Ask Friends and Family

In some cases, friends and family members will be able to help you identify a person by just looking at their picture. 

You can show friends and family members a picture that you have of someone and see if they can give you the name, location, or history of that person. You can then use this information in conjunction with the picture you have of someone to look up their details with a people search tool or on social media.

How Can I Tell if a Picture Is Part of a Scam?

Sometimes, catfish scammers will steal someone’s picture to use as part of a scam. If you suspect that someone is a catfish scammer it can help to run their picture through reverse image search to try and gather more details about them. 

If a picture returns information that does not match what a person has told you, or the picture shows up online on many different profiles, they’re likely a scammer. With mismatched information, you can safely assume that the person you are talking to is not the person in the picture and that they are attempting to scam you in some way.

Other indicators that the picture has been stolen and is part of a scam include blurry or low-quality pictures or profile pictures that don’t quite show a person’s face. Also, look out for stories that do not add up once you further research a picture and the owner’s details.

What if I Can’t Find Someone With a Picture?

If you can’t find someone using a picture that you have of them, there is a good chance that the person in the picture does not have an online profile. 

This typically happens if you are using a more historical picture, or if the person in the picture has all of their online accounts set to very private. You may be able to find traces of a person online but not their exact details if this is the case.

When you can’t find someone online, asking friends and family members is the best way to try and track down more information about the person in the picture you are searching for.

Will a Picture Help Me Find Someone’s Background Report?

A picture could potentially help you find someone’s background check report, as a successful reverse image search for a picture can give you a person’s name and general location. You can then use this information to research the person in the picture further, including putting their name and location into an online background check report tool. 

From there you’ll be able to see any relevant information about a person, including contact details, criminal or civil records, and current or previous addresses.

Successfully Finding People With a Picture

Simply having someone’s picture can make it seem impossible to find the person in the picture or more information about who they are. However, in today’s age, there are plenty of different tools that can help you find someone using just a picture. 

We recommend starting with a reverse image search of the picture you are searching with. Then, collect details about someone’s name, contact information, and even their background check report from there. Using the methods in our article you can successfully find people with a picture.

Tyron Pitch

Tyron Pitch

author