Is Yandex the Best for Face Search?

Analyzing the Best Reverse Image Search Engines: A Thorough Test

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 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.;

Yandex

16 Search by Face Tests

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Can 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.

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 Yandex Find Romance Scammers?

Romance Scam Photo Can 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!

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

Can Yandex Work with Poor Quality Photos?

Bad Photo of a Killer Can 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.

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 Yandex Find Child Abusers?

Child Molester on the Run Can 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.

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 Yandex Find Recent News?

Recently Arrested Can 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.

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

Can Yandex Recognize a Person wearing a Mask?

Masked Celebrity Actress Can 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.

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 Yandex Find Obscure Foreign Celebrities?

Unknown Singer from Laos Can 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.

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 Yandex Find an OnlyFans Model?

Random OnlyFans Model Can 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.

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 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.

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

Can Yandex Find an Old Person by Their Young Pic?

Find Old Person by Young Pic Can 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.

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

Can Yandex Find a Profile of a War Criminal?

War Criminal Soldier Can 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.

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

Can Yandex Find Escort Ads?

Brazilian Escort Ad Can 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.

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

Can Yandex Handle Facial Expressions?

Exaggerated Expression Can 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.

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

Can Yandex Find AI Generated Images?

AI Generated Girl Can 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.

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

Can Yandex Work with Blurred Photos?

Blurred Photo Can 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.

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

Can Yandex Find Social Media Profiles?

Social Media Model Can 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?

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

Yandex - Bottom Line Comparison

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.

Yandex

Total Score: 28 Points

The Battle of the Best Facial Recognition Search Engines

Test	FaceCheck	PimEyes	SocialCatfish	Yandex	Tineye	Google	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	79	57	42	28	18	14	13
	FaceCheck	PimEyes	SocialCatfish	Yandex	Tineye	Google	Bing

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Author Siti Hasan

Siti is an expert tech author that writes for the FaceCheck.ID blog and is enthusiastic about advancing FaceCheck.ID's goal of making the internet safer for all.