# How to find out who's using your product photos

> Reverse image search for sellers: which tools to use, how to search marketplaces that hide from Google, and how to tell a real copy from a lookalike.

Updated 2026-10-26 · https://makersentry.com/guides/find-who-is-using-your-product-photos

Copies of your photos rarely announce themselves. You find them by searching on purpose, regularly.

## Free tools

| Tool | Good for |
|---|---|
| Google Lens (images.google.com, camera icon) | Broadest coverage, including many marketplaces |
| Bing Visual Search | A second index that sometimes finds different results |
| TinEye | Exact and edited copies of the same image file |
| Yandex Images | Often strong for marketplace and overseas listings |

## How to search well

1. **Use your highest-resolution original**, not a thumbnail.
2. **Search a tight crop** of just the product — backgrounds and text overlays confuse matching.
3. **Search every photo in the listing**, not only the first. Copiers often use your second or third image.
4. **Open “visually similar” and “exact matches” tabs** separately.
5. **Note the platform and price** of each hit; cheap copies on high-traffic marketplaces divert the most sales.

## Real copy or lookalike?

A real copy uses **your photograph**: same angle, lighting, background, props and shadows, even if cropped or recoloured. A lookalike is a similar product photographed by someone else — that's a design question, which is harder to act on.

## Keep a record

For each copy, save the URL, a screenshot, the date found, and an Internet Archive snapshot. That record is what makes [takedown notices](/guides/how-to-file-a-dmca-takedown-notice) and [Etsy appeals](/guides/how-to-appeal-an-etsy-listing-removal) work.

## Automating it

Manual searching works for a few listings. MakerSentry runs these searches weekly across your whole shop, checks each candidate with a vision model, and archives every copy it confirms. You can try it on three listings with a [free scan](/free-scan).

## Questions

**Is Google Lens enough?**

It's the best free starting point and covers many marketplaces. Some sites are indexed poorly, so search a cropped version of the photo and check a couple of other engines too.

**How often should I check?**

For bestsellers, weekly. Copies often appear months after a listing goes viral, so a one-off search isn't enough.

**What if the photo is edited?**

Copiers often crop, mirror, recolour or add text. Search a tight crop of the product itself, and compare backgrounds, props and shadows to confirm.