Dragging a photo into a reverse image search site on iPhone usually ends in a “no file access” error or a result that goes nowhere. This shortcut fixes that by uploading the image for you and handing each engine a clean URL it can actually read, so you go straight from a picture to results.
What it does
You pass it any image and pick where to look. It then opens a reverse search on Google Images, Bing Images, Yandex, TinEye, SauceNao, or Ascii2d. Under the hood the photo gets hosted on Cloudinary first, which is the trick that sidesteps the file-access problem that breaks a lot of similar shortcuts. SauceNao and Ascii2d lean toward art, illustration, and anime sources, while Google, Bing, Yandex, and TinEye are the better calls for general photos and screenshots.
How to install
- Tap Add Shortcut on this page to open it in the Shortcuts app.
- Review the actions in the preview, scroll to the bottom, and tap Add Shortcut to confirm.
- Install the free Actions app from the App Store, since the shortcut relies on it.
- Run it once so iOS can ask for the permissions it needs.
How to use it
The fastest route is the Share Sheet. Open any photo, tap the share button, scroll down to Reverse Search Image, then choose an engine from the menu. Results open in Safari. It also accepts screenshots, so you can grab something off a webpage or a chat and search it without saving a separate copy first. If you’d rather start from the shortcut itself, tapping it opens a picker so you can select from Photos or Files.
What you can use it for
- Checking whether a profile picture or listing photo has been lifted from somewhere else.
- Tracing a screenshot back to the original article, post, or product page.
- Finding the artist or original posting behind an illustration through SauceNao or Ascii2d.
- Identifying a product, plant, or landmark when you only have the picture.
Things to know
The shortcut hands your image off to Cloudinary so the search engines can fetch it by URL, which means the photo briefly leaves your phone. That’s the cost of avoiding the file-access error, and it’s worth knowing before you run it on anything private. Match the engine to the job too: SauceNao is tuned for anime and art databases, so feeding it a vacation photo won’t get you far.
FAQ
Why do other reverse image shortcuts throw a “no file access” error?
They try to feed the search engine a local file path the site can’t reach. This one uploads the image to a host first and searches by URL, which is why version 6 specifically calls out that it “works properly again.”
Which engine should I pick for a random photo?
Start with Google or Yandex for general photos and TinEye for images saved from the web. Save SauceNao and Ascii2d for artwork and anime screenshots, where they tend to find the original artist when the bigger engines come up empty.
Does it need the Actions app, or is that optional?
Actions is required. It’s a free companion app from the App Store that supplies actions Shortcuts doesn’t include on its own, and the upload step depends on it.
