Which is Better for Face Search:
Google or Bing?
The Ultimate Guide to Reverse Image Search Engines
Disclaimer: This is not an independent review. These tests were conducted in May 2024 as part of internal competitive analysis by an expert paid by FaceCheck.ID.
Below tests evaluate the effectiveness of Google and Bing for searching the Internet using a photo of someone's face. We used various criteria to match different practical use cases. You should test the search engines yourself to see which one works best for your needs. Each search test is awarded 0 to 5 score points based on how well the search performed. Points are summarized and charted at the end.;
Versus
16 Search by Face Tests
VS
Try This Alternative to Google or Bing Reverse Image Search
Google vs Bing
Bing and Google both have limitations when it comes to reverse image searches for people. Bing often blocks such searches, typically displaying a message that says "We couldn't find any results. Make sure the subject is well lit and centered." It seems to recognize celebrities, occasionally offering a "Looks like" section with the celebrity’s name, but it falls short for ordinary people. Google, on the other hand, regularly tells users "Results for People are Limited" and focuses more on identifying commercial products than individuals. While Google excels at finding products from images, it's not the go-to for identifying people, as it deliberately restricts these searches. Both platforms are clearly steering their capabilities towards specific needs, leaving a gap for users who want to identify or recognize faces in images.
Can Google and Bing Recognize a Side Facial Profile?
Side Facial Profile
This screenshot from a recent video interview shows the side profile of a famous person. The goal is to test the search engine to see if it can recognize the person and find front-facing photos of them.
This screenshot from a recent video interview shows the side profile of a famous person. The goal is to test the search engine to see if it can recognize the person and find front-facing photos of them.
Google displayed zero matches and showed a message "Results for People are Limited".
Score: 0 Points
VS
Bing displayed plenty of photos of a TV personality in the results, but unfortunately, none of them matched the celebrity in the original picture.
Score: 0 Points
Can Google and Bing Find Romance Scammers?
Romance Scam Photo
This picture of a handsome unsuspecting doctor has been stolen by scammers and published on dating apps and used in many online romance scams. The goal of this test is to see if the search engine can help the user uncover that this pic is associated with a scam operation. The doctor is innocent!
This picture of a handsome unsuspecting doctor has been stolen by scammers and published on dating apps and used in many online romance scams. The goal of this test is to see if the search engine can help the user uncover that this pic is associated with a scam operation. The doctor is innocent!
Google displayed zero matches and showed a message saying, "Results for People are Limited." This suggests that Google is intentionally blocking searches by a photo of a person.
Score: 0 Points
VS
Bing refused to search for a person. returned zero results and displayed the message "We couldn't find any results. Make sure the subject is well lit and centered."
Score: 0 Points
Can Google and Bing Work with Poor Quality Photos?
Bad Photo of a Killer
A low-quality photo of a serial rapist, murderer, and ex-colonel in the Royal Canadian Air Force. The goal is to test the search engine's ability with a bad quality image with .jpeg artifacts where the person isn't facing the camera directly.
A low-quality photo of a serial rapist, murderer, and ex-colonel in the Royal Canadian Air Force. The goal is to test the search engine's ability with a bad quality image with .jpeg artifacts where the person isn't facing the camera directly.
Google displayed zero matches and showed a message "Results for People are Limited".
Score: 0 Points
VS
Bing refused to search for a person. returned zero results and displayed the message "We couldn't find any results. Make sure the subject is well lit and centered."
Score: 0 Points
Can Google and Bing Find Child Abusers?
Child Molester on the Run
This is a photo of someone on the offender list for molesting kids. His status is 'Absconded,' meaning he ran away from his registered address without telling the authorities. The goal is to see if the search engine is able to find high-risk offenders.
This is a photo of someone on the offender list for molesting kids. His status is 'Absconded,' meaning he ran away from his registered address without telling the authorities. The goal is to see if the search engine is able to find high-risk offenders.
Google finds one result for this child predator which is the registered offender's website.
Score: +3 Points
VS
Bing refused to search for a person. returned zero results and displayed the message "We couldn't find any results. Make sure the subject is well lit and centered."
Score: 0 Points
Can Google and Bing Find Recent News?
Recently Arrested
A photo of a serious sexual offender involving a child, who fled from the police and was hunted down and arrested, was all over the Australian news two weeks ago. The goal is to check if the search engine can find recently published images in its database.
A photo of a serious sexual offender involving a child, who fled from the police and was hunted down and arrested, was all over the Australian news two weeks ago. The goal is to check if the search engine can find recently published images in its database.
Google finds only one exact match for this person.
Score: +2 Points
VS
Bing refused to search for a person. returned zero results and displayed the message "We couldn't find any results. Make sure the subject is well lit and centered."
Score: 0 Points
Can Google and Bing Recognize a Person wearing a Mask?
Masked Celebrity Actress
This is a B-list celebrity wearing a face mask, only showing her eyes and forehead. The test is to see if the search engine can recognize faces even when they're covered by a mask. There is thousands of images of this celebrity all over the Internet, so finding a few matches should not be a problem.
This is a B-list celebrity wearing a face mask, only showing her eyes and forehead. The test is to see if the search engine can recognize faces even when they're covered by a mask. There is thousands of images of this celebrity all over the Internet, so finding a few matches should not be a problem.
Google displayed zero matches and showed a message "Results for People are Limited".
Score: 0 Points
VS
Bing returned many results, however no image was matching the actress. That proves that Bing is not using facial recognition.
Score: 0 Points
Can Google and Bing Find Obscure Foreign Celebrities?
Unknown Singer from Laos
A picture of a not-so-famous singer from the country of Laos. Hardly anyone outside of Laos knows her. The goal of this test is to see if the search engine can find info on obscure public figures from other countries.
A picture of a not-so-famous singer from the country of Laos. Hardly anyone outside of Laos knows her. The goal of this test is to see if the search engine can find info on obscure public figures from other countries.
Google finds only one exact match for this person.
Score: +2 Points
VS
Bing refused to search for a person. returned zero results and displayed the message "We couldn't find any results. Make sure the subject is well lit and centered."
Score: 0 Points
Can Google and Bing Find an OnlyFans Model?
Random OnlyFans Model
A photo of a random woman on OnlyFans who lives in Vietnam. The goal is to see if the search engine can find OnlyFans profiles.
A photo of a random woman on OnlyFans who lives in Vietnam. The goal is to see if the search engine can find OnlyFans profiles.
Instead of finding a person, Google finds similar hairbands to what the OF girl is wearing on her head. Google reverse image search is made for searching commercial products, not for people searching.
Score: 0 Points
VS
Bing refused to search for a person. returned zero results and displayed the message "We couldn't find any results. Make sure the subject is well lit and centered."
Score: 0 Points
Can Google and Bing Find an Adult Actress by Low-Res Pic?
Low-Res Pic of Adult Actress
A low-resolution picture of an obscure Japanese adult film actress. The goal is to see if the search engine can find Asian adult film stars using low-resolution photos.
A low-resolution picture of an obscure Japanese adult film actress. The goal is to see if the search engine can find Asian adult film stars using low-resolution photos.
Google displayed zero matches and showed a message "Results for People are Limited".
Score: 0 Points
VS
Bing refused to search for a person. returned zero results and displayed the message "We couldn't find any results. Make sure the subject is well lit and centered."
Score: 0 Points
Can Google and Bing Find an Old Person by Their Young Pic?
Find Old Person by Young Pic
This photo is from 1976, showing a woman who was 27 years old at the time. The goal is to see if the search engine can find a more recent photo of the same person.
This photo is from 1976, showing a woman who was 27 years old at the time. The goal is to see if the search engine can find a more recent photo of the same person.
Google displayed zero matches and showed a message "Results for People are Limited".
Score: 0 Points
VS
Bing refused to search for a person. returned zero results and displayed the message "We couldn't find any results. Make sure the subject is well lit and centered."
Score: 0 Points
Can Google and Bing Find a Profile of a War Criminal?
War Criminal Soldier
A picture of a Russian soldier who filmed himself committing terrible war crimes. The goal is to see if the search engine can find this soldier's social media profiles.
A picture of a Russian soldier who filmed himself committing terrible war crimes. The goal is to see if the search engine can find this soldier's social media profiles.
Google finds only one exact match for this person.
Score: +2 Points
VS
Bing returned many exact match images of the soldier, however no images of the soldier in diferent setting. Proving that Bing does not use facial recognition.
Score: +3 Points
Can Google and Bing Find Escort Ads?
Brazilian Escort Ad
A photo from a Brazilian escort ad. We blurred it on this page for privacy. The goal is to see if the search engine can find images on escort ads websites.
A photo from a Brazilian escort ad. We blurred it on this page for privacy. The goal is to see if the search engine can find images on escort ads websites.
Google displayed zero matches and showed a message "Results for People are Limited".
Score: 0 Points
VS
Bing refused to search for a person. returned zero results and displayed the message "We couldn't find any results. Make sure the subject is well lit and centered."
Score: 0 Points
Can Google and Bing Handle Facial Expressions?
Exaggerated Expression
The camera captured a soccer player with a funny facial expression in this photo. The goal is to see if the search engine is robust enough to find images of the same person with a normal facial expression.
The camera captured a soccer player with a funny facial expression in this photo. The goal is to see if the search engine is robust enough to find images of the same person with a normal facial expression.
This is the only case in our tests when Google actually finds the person in the picture and delivers useful results.
Score: +5 Points
VS
Bing suprisingly returned many images of the player and even section "Looks like" with the name of the player. Good job Bing! If you're searching for a football player's name, bing may help you.
Score: +5 Points
Can Google and Bing Find AI Generated Images?
AI Generated Girl
This image was generated by an artificial intelligence app. The goal is to test if the search engine can find similar AI images.
This image was generated by an artificial intelligence app. The goal is to test if the search engine can find similar AI images.
Again, instead of finding a person, Google finds similar hairbands to what the AI girl is wearing in her hair.
Score: 0 Points
VS
Bing refused to search for a person. returned zero results and displayed the message "We couldn't find any results. Make sure the subject is well lit and centered."
Score: 0 Points
Can Google and Bing Work with Blurred Photos?
Blurred Photo
Even though this photo is heavily blurred, almost anyone would recognize the iconic president in the photo. A good reverse image search engine should be able to recognize this person too.
Even though this photo is heavily blurred, almost anyone would recognize the iconic president in the photo. A good reverse image search engine should be able to recognize this person too.
Google displayed zero matches and showed a message "Results for People are Limited".
Score: 0 Points
VS
Bing returned many diferent images of the president. Seems like Bing only allows to search for celebrities or people with a large online footprint.
Score: +5 Points
Can Google and Bing Find Social Media Profiles?
Social Media Model
This person is a social media fitness model from Iraq. The test is: can the reverse image search engine find social media profiles of a person from an Islamic country?
This person is a social media fitness model from Iraq. The test is: can the reverse image search engine find social media profiles of a person from an Islamic country?
Google displayed zero matches and showed a message "Results for People are Limited".
Score: 0 Points
VS
Bing refused to search for a person. returned zero results and displayed the message "We couldn't find any results. Make sure the subject is well lit and centered."
Score: 0 Points
Google and Bing - Bottom Line Comparison
Pros
Bottom Line
Google is not effective for reverse image searching by face. It does not use facial recognition and intentionally blocks searches by a person's image, displaying a "Results for People are Limited" message. While this feature worked in the past, as of 2024, it is now entirely useless for this purpose. Google has focused its reverse image search on identifying commercial products rather than people, and it excels in this area. If you need to find a product by image, Google is perfect for that.
Fast Image Search
Free Search
Fresh Index
Cons
No Facial Recognition
Results for People are Limited
Not Useful when Searching by Face
Total Score: 14 Points
VS
Pros
Bottom Line
Bing blocked around 70% of our image searches, returning the message, "We couldn't find any results." However, it excelled with an image of a soccer player, even showing a "Looks like" section with the player's name. It appears Bing's facial search feature primarily supports celebrities, offering the "Looks like" section with their names. So, if you need to identify a celebrity from a photo, Bing could be quite useful. However, searching for regular people doesn't work on Bing.
Huge Image Database
Fast Image Search
Free Search
Cons
No Facial Recognition
Blocks Searching for People by Image
Not useful when looking up someone
Total Score: 13 Points
Top Facial Recognition Search Engines: A Comprehensive Test
| Test | FaceCheck | PimEyes | SocialCatfish | Yandex | Tineye | Bing | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Side Facial Profile | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Romance Scam Photo | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bad Photo of a Killer | 5 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Child Molester on the Run | 5 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| Recently Arrested | 5 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| Masked Celebrity Actress | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Singer from Laos | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Random OnlyFans Model | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Low-Res Pic of Adult Actress | 4 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Find Old Person by Young Pic | 5 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| War Criminal Soldier | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 3 |
| Brazilian Escort Ad | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Exaggerated Expression | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 5 |
| AI Generated Girl | 5 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Blurred Photo | 5 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Social Media Model | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total Points | |||||||
| FaceCheck | PimEyes | SocialCatfish | Yandex | Tineye | Bing |
Best Single Alternative to Google or Bing Reverse Image Search
The Ultimate Reverse Image Search Engines Comparison
- PimEyes.com vs FaceCheck.ID
- PimEyes.com vs Google.com
- PimEyes.com vs Tineye.com
- PimEyes.com vs Bing.com
- PimEyes.com vs SocialCatfish.com
- PimEyes.com vs Yandex.com
- FaceCheck.ID vs Google.com
- FaceCheck.ID vs Tineye.com
- FaceCheck.ID vs Bing.com
- FaceCheck.ID vs SocialCatfish.com
- FaceCheck.ID vs Yandex.com
- Google.com vs Tineye.com
- Google.com vs Bing.com
- Google.com vs SocialCatfish.com
- Google.com vs Yandex.com
- Tineye.com vs Bing.com
- Tineye.com vs SocialCatfish.com
- Tineye.com vs Yandex.com
- Bing.com vs SocialCatfish.com
- Bing.com vs Yandex.com
- SocialCatfish.com vs Yandex.com
Single Test Results
On the subject in other languages
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Welcher ist besser für die Gesichtssuche: Google oder Bing?
얼굴 검색에 더 좋은 것은 무엇입니까: Google 또는 Bing?
Что лучше для поиска по лицам: Google или Bing?
Quel est le meilleur pour la recherche faciale : Google ou Bing ?
Který je lepší pro vyhledávání obličejů: Google nebo Bing?
哪一个更适合人脸搜索：Google 还是 Bing？
顔検索に最適なのはどちら？：Google か Bing?
ما هو الأفضل للبحث بالوجه: Google أو Bing؟
Yüz Araması için Hangisi Daha İyi: Google veya Bing?
