Microsoft Edge appears to be getting Bing sidebar reverse image search functionality

Microsoft Edge
Microsoft Edge (Image credit: Windows Central)

What you need to know

  • Microsoft Edge appears to be receiving a Bing reverse image search feature via the sidebar.
  • This feature has appeared in Edge Dev and Edge Canary variants of the browser.
  • It's unclear when it will reach all Edge users.

As spotted by Redditor /u/Leopeva64-2 and reported by OnMSFT, it looks like Microsoft Edge is receiving Bing reverse image search functionality in the sidebar. The Reddit user mentions they only saw the option appear in Edge Dev, but OnMSFT spotted it in Edge Canary as well.

This points to a staggered rollout wherein not all Edge users will receive the feature at the same time. Still, it's good to see it trickling into the Edge ecosystem. It's worth mentioning that sidebar searching only offers image searches via Bing at the moment, with no options to use another search engine.

For those not in the know about reverse image searching, it allows anyone to trace an image's origin across the web, which is great for sourcing purposes and discovering useful associated content.

Ever wondered where a viral meme originated from? You can simply right-click an image and search the web for it, showing you just about everywhere it's appeared as well as content that's potentially related to it. Based on the feature's sidebar appearances so far in Edge, it looks like the new version of the tool will be just as easy to use as existing reverse image search methods.

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Robert Carnevale

Robert Carnevale is the News Editor for Windows Central. He's a big fan of Kinect (it lives on in his heart), Sonic the Hedgehog, and the legendary intersection of those two titans, Sonic Free Riders. He is the author of Cold War 2395. Have a useful tip? Send it to robert.carnevale@futurenet.com.