How to Find Instagram Account ID by Photo: 5 Methods
Katherine Young
You may want to find an Instagram account by photo for numerous reasons, such as if you are curious about someone you like or want to know about a long-lost friend or a relative. It could also be helpful if you are an amateur private investigator, a recruiter, a law student, or a business owner who wants to contact an influencer for collaboration. Additionally, you may want to look up your Tinder date for some background investigation.
No matter your purpose, I have found some of the most reliable ways to help find a person or a business on Instagram with the help of a photo. The methods I used in this article were tried on mostly consenting individuals and public profiles, as it is crucial to keep things ethical and legal. Read more…
Social Catfish is a reverse image search tool that allows you to safely browse social media and online dating sites. Its image search feature to help me find an account on Instagram. You can also use it to discover if your images are used by others online.
Can you find an Instagram ID by Photo?
Finding an Instagram account by photo is easy yet tricky. The success of finding an Insta account by photo highly depends on your method.
Instagram doesn’t offer a direct reverse photo search service; therefore, you will have to use third-party applications to find an account using a picture. Below, I have mentioned all the methods that helped me successfully find an account using a photo.
Method 1: How to Find Instagram Account by Photo using third-party tools
Here are the top reverse image search third-party sites that I used to find an Instagram account by photo.
1) Social Catfish
Social Catfish, as its name suggests, helps people avoid catfishing and scams. It has multiple search parameters that can provide you with a complete detail about anyone. I used its image search feature to help me find an account on Instagram.
It has the capability to deep scan social media and the internet which returned quick results when I was looking for a certain influencer.
Social Networks: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram
Find Copyrighted Photos: Yes
Free Trial: 3-Day Trial for $6.87
Features:
- Unlimited Search: No matter the plan you select, you can run an unlimited search. For research purposes, I used its 3-day paid trial, which cost me $6.87. It offered a complete report on several famous influencers, one such personality was Diana Korkunova, who has 1.3 million followers on Instagram currently. In fact, I also found her clothing brand’s Insta account named Yandi World.
- Search history: I like Social Catfish’s convenient search history storage feature, which lets me save my searches. This way, I do not have to start any search from scratch and can simply use the history to see my results.
- Detailed report: Looking at its report, I realized it could be very helpful for investigations as it provides you access to over 200 billion records. Its report includes social profiles, email, usernames, education, contact details, images, relationships, and more.
- Background check: With the help of its background check, you can get details on their marriage, divorce, and even criminal offenses. This helps you maintain your safety if you want to meet someone you have only talked to online before committing to a date.
Pros
Cons
3-Day Trial for $6.87
Steps to find an Instagram ID Search by image using Social Catfish:
Step 1) Go to the Social Catfish https://socialcatfish.com/reverse-image-search/ page.
Step 2) Here, I uploaded an image of the influencer model Diana and clicked on Search. You can also browse the image and upload it on its search bar.
Step 3) Once I hit Search, it began its process and asked for my email address after completing the search.
Step 4) After entering my email ID, I had to make a payment. I selected the 3-day paid trial available for $6.87 and received the report.
In the report, in addition to her phone number and address, I received her Instagram username, email address, other social media account details, images, education, and more.
3-Day Trial for $6.87
2) Spokeo
Spokeo is a well-known social search tool that can look up people using their name, phone number, email, address, and username.
I found Spokeo quite quick in generating results, and it was highly effective as it can look up 120+ social networks. Hence, even if your person of interest is not on one specific dating site, you can find them in others.
Social Networks: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat etc.
Find Copyrighted Photos: No
Free Trial: 7-Day Trial for $0.95
Features:
- Social Media Integration: It links the targeted person’s social media and dating profile. However, I have found some links that need to be more accurate and updated.
- Public Records Access: Spokeo accesses publicly available records and databases to extract data about a person. However, at times, the data is not fully accurate.
- Search Results: The search results may contain various details including, but not limited to, address, legal name, family, location, and age.
- Security: SSL and modern safety standards secure all your financial details and personal account information.
Pros
Cons
7-Day Trial for $0.95
Steps to find an Instagram ID Search by using Spokeo:
Step 1) Go to the Spokeo https://www.spokeo.com/ page.
Step 2) Type their username in the Search bar, click on Search Now, and allow it to process.
Step 3) Once the search was complete, I clicked on “Unlock Full Result” and hit Continue to pay $0.95 for a one-time report.
7-Day Trial for $0.95
3) TinEye
As I evaluated TinEye, I found that it is a renowned reverse image search tool that lets you upload images or paste a URL to find similar-looking photos across the web. You can also add TinEye to your browser as an extension for instant searches.
I tried TinEye as an extension for Chrome, Opera, Firefox, and Edge. It worked seamlessly on all browsers, however, it was slightly slower on Firefox at times. Overall, I am not disappointed as I found its results quite relevant to my searches.
Features:
- Image tracking: TinEye can help you track images to see where and how they are being used. Hence, once I uploaded an image of a user, it showed me where it was used and brought up their Instagram account.
- MatchEngine: With the help of MatchEngine, I could verify if an image provided by my online date was valid. It turns out they provided me with genuine pictures that were also uploaded to their Instagram account. However, it took me a few tries with certain images they provided as TinEye came back without results and displayed “Oops, something went wrong” or indicated it did not have them in its database.
- Works on blurry images: TinEye can perform reverse search even on blurry images. I have tried it on low-resolution Google images, and it could quickly find similar results.
- MulticolorEngine: If you are looking for a fabric brand, art, or fashion account on Instagram for a collab or other purposes, its MulticolorEngine will come in handy. It helps users find images based on colors as it can read the percentage of every shade separately.
Pros
Cons
Here are the steps that I used to find an Instagram ID by photo using TinEye:
Step 1) Visit the https://tineye.com/ official website and upload an image or paste a URL in the respective places.
Step 2) To indicate the steps I have uploaded an image of a bird which was available on Google and was captured and uploaded on a wildlife photography Insta account. Once you upload an image it will automatically perform the search.
Step 3) After the search is complete, you will receive similar images and links next to them. Look through all the results and click on the link that indicates an Instagram account to find your target.
Link: https://tineye.com/
xmobi is an advanced image recognition tool designed to help you find Instagram account IDs using photos. It provides a user-friendly and secure platform that allows you to quickly and accurately match images to Instagram profiles without the need to log into your own account.
4) Berify
Berify is a reverse image search service with over 800 million images and image data. To try it out, I suggest you first use its free trial, which offers reverse lookup for 5 images.
I found it convenient to use from both my smartphone and desktop. One of the best parts of using Berify was that I received updates every time a new duplicate of an image was found online. Hence, it can be useful if any old Instagram image that you have looked up suddenly reappears somewhere.
Features:
- Multiple images: It saved a lot of my time as its paid plans let you upload bulk images at once (note that I only tried paid plans’ free duration). I connected it to my social media, uploaded multiple images of my target from Pinterest, and found their Instagram account.
- Multiple platforms: Berify helped me upload images from multiple platforms seamlessly. It lets me use sitemaps, RSS feeds, Dropbox, website links, social media platforms, and more.
- Use cases: This tool can be used by photographers and models to track the usage of their original pictures. I’d say Berify is also quite useful for vloggers, lawyers, marketing agencies, and individuals who want to manage their online reputation.
- Pro API: Users who want to use its API can try its Pro API. It can verify images better and has a larger database. However, it is only for people with a lot of official work related to reverse image search, as it costs much more than the usual Berify. I recommend you use its regular version unless you are an agency, a serious photographer or your work and life depend on reverse image search.
Pros
Cons
Steps to find an Instagram Account by Picture using Berify:
Step 1) Go to https://berify.com/ and upload an image to its search bar. Browse for the image you want to use and tap on Search. You can also upload a sitemap or RSS for bulk uploads.
Step 2) Berify has three plans; I signed up for its 3-day free trial plan, which helped me search for multiple images. However, you can also use its free plan.
Step 3) After I signed up, I received the results within a minute.
Link: https://berify.com/
Instagram Image Search by Apify is a smart reverse image tool that helps you find Instagram profiles using just a photo. It's fast, accurate, and ideal for uncovering the source of any image.
Method 2: Find Instagram account by photo using search engines
Google and Bing are two search engine giants used worldwide, and these tools also employ reverse image search technology, therefore, I gave them a try.
1) Google Images
Google Images lets you upload an image, drag and drop it, or paste a link. I find it quite easy to use, and its humongous database makes it a reliable source for reverse image searches. Using this tool, I could also crop the picture within the site and find cropped results of the same image.
You may not luck out on finding the Instagram account always, but you will find similar results, even pictures of the same person or object taken from different angles. However, in my case, I did find the cake shop’s account that I wanted to locate on Instagram.
Follow these steps to find the account by photo:
Step 1) Go to https://images.google.com/ and click on the camera icon to upload a photo; drag and drop it from your PC, or paste a link and hit the Search button.
Step 2) After I uploaded the image, it quickly brought up the Instagram account that I wanted to find.
Step 3) I clicked on the link, visited the account, and followed it instantly.
Link: https://images.google.com/
2) Bing Visual Search
Bing Visual Search is a Microsoft image search tool that lets you take a picture, browse for an image, paste an image or URL, and drag and drop an image.
While trying it out, I realized there is not much difference between Bing and Google as they displayed almost the same results. However, certain results did vary, and every time I cropped the image slightly, Bing presented different pictures.
Here are the steps that I used to find the Instagram account by photo on Bing:
Step 1) I visited the https://www.bing.com/visualsearch site, browsed for the image on my PC, and uploaded it. You can also use its other options, such as Paste an image or URL, Find an image, or Take a picture.
Step 2) Bing provided the results immediately, and I didn’t even have to click on any Search or magnifying button.
Step 3) I couldn’t find the Instagram account instantly on top, however, I found the celebrity’s name (Sabrina Carpenter) with the same picture that I had uploaded, and it led me to her IG account.
Link: https://www.bing.com/visualsearch
Method 3: Find an Instagram account using Instagram
Trying to find an Instagram account ID by photo can seem confusing when you first attempt it. In review process, I realized the most powerful and practical method is to find an Instagram account using Instagram itself. It is a great option because it connects your search directly to the social network’s own resources.
I particularly appreciate how easy it is to search, but blurry or filtered photos gave me a tough time. To counter this, I recommend using original or less-edited images because they are typically the most effective for better matching results.
However, note that you won’t be able to use their picture to perform a reverse search on IG to find the account. You can only either type their name in the search bar or use tags to locate the account.
- Type their name on the search bar: This one time I wanted to look for an old schoolmate of mine so I simply typed their name on the search bar and found her. This method is possible if you know their name or username. Thus, it will not work unless they use their real name for their username or at least have it in their bio.
- Use Tags: You can use the slightest detail that you may have about them, for example, their hobby, educational background, location, favorite food, or restaurant, for tags. Once you type the tag you can also select accounts and tags category to find them in the results.
For example, I know an individual who goes to the University of San Francisco, hence, I can use hashtags like #Sanfranciscouniversity #Sanfranciscostudents, etc., and see if they are tagged in any of their posts. You can also try their hobbies such as #guitarlessons, #riverrafting, #ballet, #rockclimbing, etc., and use all the tags related to their hobbies to find their account.
Note that the tag method will help you locate them only if they have a public profile or are tagged in an image that has been uploaded to another public profile.
Method 4: Use Other Social Media to Find Instagram Account by Picture
For those wondering how to find an Instagram account ID by a photo, using other social media to find Instagram account by picture is a great way to start. During my research, I noticed that users often keep the same or similar photos across different social media platforms. This consistency typically allows you to cross-reference and find the Instagram account with ease.
However, I faced a situation where images were heavily filtered or cropped differently. To resolve the issue, I checked profile bios and usernames carefully, which often offered clues. It is important to stay observant and not rely only on photos.
Method 5: Ask mutual friends
Finding an Instagram account ID by photo can feel complicated, but one of the easiest ways is to simply ask mutual friends. I tested this method with a few contacts and found it works best when you are polite and upfront. It might be helpful to explain your reason clearly to avoid confusion.
However, some of my mutual contacts were hesitant to share information. To resolve the issue, I made sure to explain that my goal was respectful and not intrusive. It is essential to maintain a friendly tone and provide a genuine reason when asking for help.
How does Instagram account finder by photo work?
An Instagram account finder by photo uses image recognition technology to find identical images. These tools scan the web thoroughly to locate similar or duplicate photos and offer links to the source along with the pictures.
Their algorithms find images based on their color, shape, size, and other unique characteristics. Some of these Instagram account finders also include facial recognition, so they can identify exactly who the person in the photo is.
You can simply upload the image, paste a URL link, or drag and drop it into their search bar. Once you click on the search button, it goes through its database and provides similar-looking results or duplicates. Some of these tools also offer complete backgrounds like name, age, gender, contact details, social media usernames, and more.
Privacy and Legal Risks of Finding Instagram Accounts by Photo
Although all the methods that I have mentioned in this article are legal, we must respect people’s privacy, use the images ethically, and be aware of the legal implications of using someone’s photo to find their IG account.
Invading someone’s privacy is not only considered unethical but can also come under a criminal offense. If you use someone’s image without consent and upload it online, unless it is publicly available, your action may come under the Copyright Act of 1976, which protects copyright owners. I would also recommend you check the GDPR and CCPA’s data privacy laws that may impact your use of personal images.
Instagram also provides user protection policies such as, if you engage in any type of stalking activity it will be a violation of their Community Guidelines. If the image is used without consent for harassment and privacy violation, IG shall send a warning or limit your access to certain features and even shadowban you. In severe cases, I have come across incidents when the user’s account was suspended or removed permanently.
Furthermore, I came across a PR Newswire report that said, “Online image exploitation and abuse impact more than one-fifth of Americans. This study was conducted on 1006 adult Americans by the team of a reliable image abuse protection tool known as ImageShield. For women 18 to 30 years old, the case increased to one-fourth, which didn’t really surprise me but did leave me in a slight fear.
If you have ever been a victim of stalking, you can join communities on Instagram, such as Stopstalkingusnow, where you can read stories of stalking survivors.
Finally, I’d say the first step towards doing your part to not come under fire is to respect personal boundaries and user privacy. If the target you are looking for does not want to be in touch or you are not searching their account with a valid reason or crossing their privacy, you may ponder upon it and avoid such kind of activity. By using these reliable methods and tools, you can easily find an Instagram account by photo and connect with people or businesses that you are curious about.
Limitations of Current Technology for Finding Instagram Accounts by Photo
Some of the limitations of current technology in accurately finding accounts from photos and their effects include my observations along with the general ones.
- Limited data: While using certain tools mentioned in this list I had to try them several times to find the accurate result. Although some did bring up the account after a few attempts Tineye failed to deliver it for certain images as it didn’t have it in its database. As a user, due to limited data, I was certainly affected by misclassification and a few inaccurate results.
- Image quality variations: Even if some tools may still recognize a low-quality image, it is not certain that it will return accurate results. On the other hand, few tools do not bother to play with low-quality images at all. This may lead you to a dead end if all you own is a blurry or grainy picture.
- Complex images: Identifying complex images with numerous objects in the frame may sometimes make it impossible for the tools to bring up results. I tried to look for a certain landscape that had a very noisy background which confused some of the tools, leading me to several inaccurate findings.
- Unseen objects: If you provide an unseen object to the tools and expect an accurate result, you may receive similar-looking objects that are not even remotely related to what you are looking for. This is due to the generalization of unseen objects.
- Lightning conditions: The image recognition tool may fail to identify a person or an object due to different lights or poor lighting, which can lead to false positives or rejection of the input.
Conclusion:
I have handpicked these methods, comparing them with all the available procedures. These methods have proved that they can be quite reliable when it comes to finding Instagram accounts by Photos. Although, I’d have to warn you that they are not always accurate and may not give you the desired outcome in every search. If you’re looking to find Instagram ID by photo, using advanced reverse image search tools like Social Catfish can improve your chances.
There is no tool that guarantees a 100% accurate result at the moment. Nevertheless, things may change in the future, with search engines and reverse image lookup sites constantly improving their technology. On the other hand, Instagram might make it harder for the tools to find user information and revise its privacy policy in the coming years.
Social Catfish is a reverse image search tool that allows you to safely browse social media and online dating sites. Its image search feature to help me find an account on Instagram. You can also use it to discover if your images are used by others online.
