TinEye is a very cool search engine for images which makes it a snap to find similar or identical images around the web. Upload an image file or give the service a URL of an image and within seconds it will find similar or identical images. I have to say it’s one of the most impressive vertical search services I’ve seen in a long while, and despite the fact that it obviously has limitations with some images, it works surprisingly well with many choices (examples). The real kicker is the fact that you can embed it in your web browser via a plugin, which makes finding an image a simple right mouse click affair.

The key to its accuracy comes from a specialised ‘fingerprinting’ technology which also lets you search for images which have been altered or doctored or even locate higher resolution versions. It’s a lovely bit of code all round and a definite keeper.