With dating apps and social media being such a big part of daily life, I’ve been wondering how well image-based tools work for spotting fake profiles. Many people suggest using social media image search to see if photos are stolen or reused elsewhere online, but I’m not sure how reliable that is in practice. It seems helpful for catching obvious scams or bots that use stock photos. But more sophisticated catfish accounts might use unique or slightly edited images that don’t appear anywhere else.

For those who’ve tried this, did it actually help you avoid a fake profile or confirm something suspicious? Or does it mostly just give peace of mind instead of real protection?