Which is Better for Face Search:
PimEyes or Yandex?

Comprehensive Testing of the Best 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 PimEyes and Yandex 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.;

PimEyes

Yandex

16 Search by Face Tests

The Best Alternative to PimEyes or Yandex for Reverse Image Searches

Try This Alternative to PimEyes or Yandex Reverse Image Search - FaceCheck.ID

Locate People by Face

PimEyes vs Yandex

PimEyes and Yandex, both reverse image search engines, cater to different aspects of image searching with varying degrees of focus and success. PimEyes excels in identifying adult content and is particularly adept at finding explicit images and faces across a range of shady, copyright-infringing websites. This specialization makes it a valuable tool for users seeking to combat revenge porn or trace leaked content, although it struggles with low-quality images and lacks social media search, which limits its broader application.

On the other hand, Yandex demonstrates some capability in identifying faces and scenes across Russian and Eastern European content, with its search results predominantly sourced from these regions. While Yandex does not employ facial recognition technology, which affects its accuracy and depth in identifying individuals, it does not restrict face searches like some Western search engines. This openness allows for a broader range of image searches, though it is less effective outside its primary regional focus due to limited indexing of Western and Asian websites.

Both platforms reveal their strengths and limitations: PimEyes in its focused, adult-content oriented searches and Yandex in its regional proficiency and lack of facial recognition limitations, making each useful under specific circumstances dictated by user needs and geographical relevance.

Can PimEyes and Yandex 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.

PimEyes failed this test showing a message "The photo appears to be low quality, making it difficult to identify facial features." Score: 0 Points

Yandex displayed many men in suits on TV matching the overall setting, but none of them matched the celebrity in the original picture, confirming the lack of facial recognition. Score: 0 Points

Can PimEyes and Yandex Find Romance Scammers?

Romance Scam Photo Can PimEyes and Yandex Find Romance Scammers?

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!

PimEyes found plenty of matching pictures of this doctor. After clicking thru the results, the user would find out this pic is used in many scams. Score: +5 Points

Yandex found several images of the doctor in different settings. Score: +5 Points

Can PimEyes and Yandex Work with Poor Quality Photos?

Bad Photo of a Killer Can PimEyes and Yandex Work with Poor Quality Photos?

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.

PimEyes failed to find the face in this poor-quality image and displayed the message "Face not found. Make sure the face on the photo is clearly visible." Score: 0 Points

Yandex found a few exact matches, but due to the extensive presence of the killer's images on the internet, we consider these results poor. Score: +2 Points

Can PimEyes and Yandex Find Child Abusers?

Child Molester on the Run Can PimEyes and Yandex Find Child Abusers?

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.

PimEyes found five matching photos of this child predator. Score: +5 Points

Yandex found one image of the predator on a Russian language website. It appears Yandex did not index any of his images from Western websites. Score: +2 Points

Can PimEyes and Yandex Find Recent News?

Recently Arrested Can PimEyes and Yandex Find Recent News?

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.

PimEyes found many matching photos on news websites, showing that it regularly updates its image database with new content. Score: +5 Points

Yandex did not find any image of this Australian man. Most of the image results are from Russian language websites. Score: 0 Points

Can PimEyes and Yandex Recognize a Person wearing a Mask?

Masked Celebrity Actress Can PimEyes and Yandex Recognize a Person wearing a Mask?

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.

PimEyes failed to find the face in this photo and displayed the message "Face not found. Make sure the face on the photo is clearly visible." Score: 0 Points

Yandex found many women in black masks, but none of them are the actress. This proves that Yandex does not use facial recognition. Score: 0 Points

Can PimEyes and Yandex Find Obscure Foreign Celebrities?

Unknown Singer from Laos Can PimEyes and Yandex Find Obscure Foreign Celebrities?

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.

PimEyes found many matching photos of this obscure celebrity from Laos. Score: +5 Points

Yandex found similar-looking Asian women with smooth skin and bright red lips, but none of them are the singer from Laos we are searching for. Score: 0 Points

Can PimEyes and Yandex Find an OnlyFans Model?

Random OnlyFans Model Can PimEyes and Yandex Find an 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.

PimEyes found explicit images of this OnlyFans girl on many shady copyright-infringing "leak" websites. PimEyes seems to be focused on helping users fighting "revenge" kind of content. Score: +5 Points

Yandex found many women in glasses with open mouths, but none of them are the OnlyFans model we are looking for. Score: 0 Points

Can PimEyes and Yandex 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.

PimEyes found many matching photos of this Japanese adult performer. PimEyes shines when it comes to searching for adult film stars. Score: +5 Points

Yandex found one exact match of this Asian adult star, leading to two websites. Score: +3 Points

Can PimEyes and Yandex Find an Old Person by Their Young Pic?

Find Old Person by Young Pic Can PimEyes and Yandex Find an Old Person by Their 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.

PimEyes found many matching photos of this person in her older years. However the photos seem to be limited to the subject in her 30s and 40s. Score: +5 Points

Yandex found an exact match of this woman but failed to find any pictures from her older years. Score: +1 Points

Can PimEyes and Yandex Find a Profile of a War Criminal?

War Criminal Soldier Can PimEyes and Yandex Find a Profile of a War Criminal?

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.

PimEyes found many matching photos of this soldier; however, it did not find any of his social media. Score: +4 Points

Yandex found one exact match of this war criminal, leading to several websites. Score: +4 Points

Can PimEyes and Yandex Find Escort Ads?

Brazilian Escort Ad Can PimEyes and Yandex Find Escort Ads?

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.

PimEyes found many matching photos of this person. Score: +5 Points

Yandex found many red-haired women, but none of them are the person we are looking for. Score: 0 Points

Can PimEyes and Yandex Handle Facial Expressions?

Exaggerated Expression Can PimEyes and Yandex Handle Facial Expressions?

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.

PimEyes found many memes with an exact match of this facial expression, and also found the player with other facial expressions. Score: +5 Points

Yandex found the soccer player with many different facial expressions and delivered useful results. Score: +5 Points

Can PimEyes and Yandex Find AI Generated Images?

AI Generated Girl Can PimEyes and Yandex Find AI Generated Images?

This image was generated by an artificial intelligence app. The goal is to test if the search engine can find similar AI images.

PimEyes found many similar images of AI-generated women. Score: +5 Points

Yandex found similar-looking photos, but none of them seem to be AI-generated or match the original picture. Score: +1 Points

Can PimEyes and Yandex Work with Blurred Photos?

Blurred Photo Can PimEyes and Yandex Work with Blurred Photos?

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.

PimEyes failed to find a face in this blurred photo and displayed the message "Face not found. Make sure the face on the photo is clearly visible." Score: 0 Points

Yandex had no problem with this blurred photo and found many images of the president. Score: +5 Points

Can PimEyes and Yandex Find Social Media Profiles?

Social Media Model Can PimEyes and Yandex Find Social Media Profiles?

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?

PimEyes found many matching photos of this Iraqi model. However found zero profiles from the top social media sites. Because this is a social media test, we are lowering the test score to 3. Score: +3 Points

Yandex found many brunettes with similar face shapes, but none of them are the Iraqi fitness model. Score: 0 Points

PimEyes and Yandex - Bottom Line Comparison

Pros

Excels in Adult Oriented Searches

Large Image Database

Decent Facial Recognition Algorithm

Cons

No Social Media Images

Does not work with Low Quality Photos

Lots of Low Quality Adult Website Results

Bottom Line PimEyes is a powerful search engine with a vast image database. It focuses on indexing shady, copyright-infringing websites with "leaked" adult content, specializing in helping users combat revenge porn. It is highly effective at finding adult content. However, its effectiveness for other purposes is limited by the lack of social media indexing and its inability to search blurry or low-quality images. Despite these drawbacks, PimEyes is a highly recommended reverse image search engine.

PimEyes

Total Score: 57 Points

Pros

Allows Face Search

Good User Interface

Fast Search

Cons

No Face Recognition

Focused on Russian Websites

Annoying Captcha

Bottom Line Yandex primarily indexes images from Russian and Eastern European websites. Since it doesn't use facial recognition algorithms and has limited indexing of Western and Asian websites, it didn't perform well in our tests. However, unlike Google and Bing, Yandex doesn't block face searches, which is a plus. If you're looking for images specific to Russian-speaking countries or Eastern Europe, Yandex could be a useful tool.