FindMyFlag — Reverse Flag Search for Unknown and Historical Flags

I have been working on a new flag-identification tool called FindMyFlag.

Instead of starting with a country name, colours, symbols or other filters, FindMyFlag lets you start with the thing you actually have: an image of the flag.

Upload a photograph, screenshot or scan, and the search engine compares it visually against nearly 250,000 indexed flag images.

This is especially useful for flags that are difficult to identify through ordinary flag lists — historical flags, maritime flags, yacht club burgees, house flags, military flags, regional designs and other obscure material.

From the FlagGeek image search to FindMyFlag

The original FlagGeek FOTW Image Search began as an experiment using images connected to the Flags of the World reference material.

FindMyFlag is the next step.

The new system is designed to search across multiple independent reference collections at the same time, including online datasets and digitised historical flag books.

That means you no longer need to know which database, book or period to search before you begin.

How it works

The uploaded image is converted into a visual representation and compared with the indexed reference images.

The system then returns ranked visual matches together with the available metadata and source attribution.

It is not intended to replace historical research. A visual match is a lead that should still be checked against the source, period, construction and provenance.

Real flags can also be surprisingly difficult for image search. Folds, fading, shadows, perspective and background objects can all affect the result.

If the first search is poor, cropping tightly around the flag — or even around a distinctive emblem — can make a substantial difference.

Try FindMyFlag

You can try the new reverse flag search here:

Identify a flag from a photo with FindMyFlag

There are also dedicated guides for identifying unknown and historical flags:

The reference index will continue to grow as additional flag books, archives and datasets are processed and added.

Fun With Flaggeek