Openverse
Searches around a billion openly licensed images and audio files, with the licence terms attached to every single result.
Opens in a new tab. We do not control this site and it may have changed since we catalogued it.
How to get the most from it
Openverse sits in Odd Search Engines under Learn, filed as a minute.
- Give it one round. There is nothing to finish and nothing lost by leaving.
- It works on a phone or a desktop, so open it on whatever is nearest.
- It works with the sound off, so it is fine on a train or in a quiet office.
- No account needed — you can start without signing up.
- Go in expecting something useful.
About this category: Reverse image search, niche indexes, and search engines built on a premise other than popularity. What the web looks like when ranked differently.
Good for
- A one-round break between tasks
- Getting something practical done
- A quiet break at your desk
- Killing time on your phone
- Trying it with zero commitment
Openverse: quick answers
Is Openverse free?
Yes. Openverse is free to use and needs no account.
Do I need an account to use Openverse?
No. You can use Openverse without signing up for anything.
Does Openverse work on a phone?
Yes. Openverse works on phones as well as desktop browsers.
Is Openverse safe for work?
Yes, we file it as safe for work. It also works muted.
How long does Openverse take?
We file it as "A minute": One quick round, then you can leave.
More in Odd Search Engines
All 17 in Odd Search EnginesReverse image search tuned for illustration: hand it a cropped screenshot and it names the artist and the original post.
- <1 min
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- 10 min
Search engine for internet-connected devices rather than pages: webcams, routers and industrial kit nobody meant to publish.
- 10 min
- Desktop
Non-commercial web search indexing only pages carrying no ads or trackers at all. A very small and very different internet.
Same mood: useful
All useful sitesOxford's open charts on poverty, energy, health and war, with the underlying data downloadable from every single one.
Write creative code in one pane and watch it run in the next, with no install, no build step and no configuration.
- 10 min
- Desktop
John McLeod's encyclopedia of card game rules, covering every regional variant of everything and settling every dispute.
- 1 hr+
Recorded user flows from real products, so you can watch an onboarding happen rather than guess at how it went.
- 10 min
- Desktop
Keep exploring
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