Finding where a screenshot came from
Took a screenshot of a post or article and lost the link? The Source panel searches the web for the page or post your screenshot shows, and tells you how it knows it’s a match.
1. Search for a screenshot’s source
Open a screenshot and click Source (the globe) in the toolbar. The Source panel opens beside the screenshot, next to Similar. Nothing leaves your Mac until you press a search button.
- Search the Web looks for the post or page the screenshot shows, using the text in it. Use this for screenshots of posts, articles and other web pages.
- Search Images looks for places the same picture appears online. If a screenshot looks like a photo rather than a web page or post, ScreenFolio suggests this first. You can still choose Search as a Web Page Instead.
The first time you search, ScreenFolio asks you to confirm that the screenshot will leave your Mac. After you press Search, it won’t ask again.
Most searches take under a minute, and the panel shows what it’s doing along the way. Press Stop to cancel.
2. Reading the results
The line under the panel’s title sums up the search:
- Source found: at least one match is the page or post in your screenshot itself.
- Found on the web: ScreenFolio found pages with the same content, but none it could tie to the exact post or page you captured.
- Picture found online: an image search found the same picture, or part of it.
Each match has a label. A filled green dot and The page in your screenshot (or Source of part of your screenshot) mean it’s the thing you captured. A hollow dot means the same content somewhere else: Same content elsewhere, Likely original source or Possible source. Image matches say Matching picture, Part of this picture or Page with this picture.
Why it matches lists only the checks the match actually passed, such as:
- Same text: how much of your screenshot’s text is on the page.
- Same words: words from your screenshot that appear exactly on the page.
- Same site or Same author: the site or name shown in your screenshot matches.
- Same picture or Part of the picture: for image searches, the pictures were compared directly.
When you select a match, the part of your screenshot it matched is outlined. Show matching text shows the matching passage from the page.
Results are saved on your Mac, so reopening the screenshot shows them again with the date you searched.
3. Opening a page
- View Page Here shows the page in place of the screenshot, with the Source panel still beside it. Use the Screenshot | Web Page switch above it to compare the two. This view is private: it keeps no cookies or history, so you won’t be signed in to sites.
- Open in Browser opens the page in your usual browser.
- Copy Link copies the page’s address.
4. What’s sent, and what isn’t
When you search, ScreenFolio sends a re-encoded copy of that one screenshot, with no file name, file details (like location or capture time) or library ID. It goes through ScreenFolio’s search service, which runs on Cloudflare and Val Town, to OpenAI, which reads it. Image searches may send it to Google Cloud Vision. Exa, Perplexity and X receive search words taken from it, and websites that might be the source receive ordinary page requests.
Our service does not store or log your screenshot, its text or the results. To enforce search limits, it keeps a random ID for your copy of the app, the time of each search, and counts, and deletes them after 30 days. Each provider handles requests under its own privacy policy; OpenAI may keep requests for up to 30 days to monitor for abuse.
Everything visible in the screenshot is included. Crop out or skip screenshots that show private details such as messages, account pages, addresses or codes. The details are in section 3 of our privacy policy.
5. Limits
- Searches are limited. Each copy of ScreenFolio can run 50 web searches and 20 image searches in any 30-day period, and a few per minute. There is also an overall limit shared by all beta users.
- It’s a beta feature. We can switch it off for everyone, for example if costs or problems require it. When it’s off, the Source button doesn’t appear.
- It works best on public posts and articles. It can’t find pages that are private, behind a login or paywall, deleted, or not indexed by search engines, and it won’t find personal photos you took yourself.
- When unsure, it shows nothing. A search that can’t confirm a page usually reports no source rather than guessing.
6. Troubleshooting
- No source found. Usually the page changed or was taken down, the screenshot shows a picture rather than a page’s text, or it’s private, like a message or account page. Try Search Images, or Search Again later. If a result isn’t right, Look for Copies runs an image search.
- No Source button. The feature is switched off or the service couldn’t be reached. Check back later.
- “Unavailable.” ScreenFolio couldn’t prepare this screenshot, for example if it’s too large or isn’t a PNG or JPEG. Nothing was sent.
- “Too many source searches are running.” You’ve hit a per-minute limit, or a 30-day limit (yours or the overall one). Wait a minute and try again; if it keeps happening, you may need to wait for the 30-day limit to ease.
- Temporarily unavailable or ran out of time. Press Try Again later.
Still stuck? Email support@screenfolio.app.