RAYMOND OGLESBY @RaymondOglesby2
October 20, 2026 – 3 minutes read time
Overview
You can use multiple search terms to find specific pictures in the Photos app. I use this time-saving feature to search for specific pictures from vacations, entering a date and location to see all videos and photos from each trip.
With iOS 18, Apple completely revamped the Photos app, with a brand new search function. Previously, you could use search terms from one or more of the following categories: date, location, business name, events, people, pets, captions, and type of photo. Now, you can do an image search on your iPhone for objects or text that show up in your photos. For example, we often forget our license plate number when paying for public parking. We know we have photos of it, so we can just go into the Photos app, type “license plate,” and our phone will show me all the photos of our license plate. Here’s how to search photos in the Photos app.
Key Takeaways
- Learn how to search photos on your iPhone and iPad to find Photos of nearly anything.
- Do an iPhone photo search to find objects or text that appear in your photos.
System Requirements
This tip works on iPhones running iOS 18 or later, but was tested on an iPhone 17 Pro running iOS 26.5.
Click here to learn how to update your iPhone to the latest iOS version.
Searching Your Photos
- Open your Photo app. Refer to the image below:
2. Tap your Search icon at the bottom. See the image below:
3. You will see some suggestions, which you can tap. Or you can tap the Search bar to type in your own search terms. See the following image:
4. Once you enter a search term, you will see all the photos in your library that match. For example, we searched “Eric, and now we can see all my photos of our grandson. Refer to the image below:
According to the number of photos in your library, a pop-up menu will appear. Just select a group from the menu. See the image below:
That’s how to search photos on the iPhone. Try it out yourself! Put in a few search terms and see what you get. We hope this tip helps you find the photos you need quickly and efficiently!
Disclaimer
Technology is constantly evolving, and smartphone and desktop tech rarely remains static. Therefore, the information in this post is only accurate as of the date it was written. Blog posts that are older than six months may contain instructions that are no longer compatible with your device or operating system. We hope that the content from previous posts continues to function as intended. Thank you for reading TechSavvy.Life, where technology works for you.
Quote For the Day
he art challenges the technology, and the technology inspires the art
– John Lasseter
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