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. Read on to learn how to image search on your iPhone and iPad using multiple keywords.

Why You'll Love This Tip

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.

How to Search for Photos on iPhone & iPad

System Requirements

This tip works on iPhones running iOS 18 or later, but was tested on an iPhone 17 Pro running iOS 26.2. Find out how to update to the latest version of iOS.

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, I often forget my license plate number when paying for public parking. I know I have photos of it, so I can just go into the Photos app, type "license plate," and my phone will show me all the photos of my license plate. Here's how to search photos in the Photos app:

Open the Photos app.
Tap the Search icon.
You'll see some personalized suggestions, which you can tap. Or you can tap the Search bar to type in your own search terms.
Once you enter a search term, you'll see all the photos in your library that match. For example, I searched "Nova October 2025," and now I can see all my photos of my dog Nova from October of 2025.

That's how to search photos on the iPhone. Try it out yourself! Put in a few search terms and see what you get. It's super easy to find the exact photo you're looking for every time. I hope this tip helps you find the photos you need quickly and efficiently! Next, find out how to customize app icons.