Openverse review: a Creative Commons search engine

Openverse is a free search engine for openly licensed and public-domain pictures and sound that people are allowed to reuse.¹⁵ It is for teachers, bloggers, newsletter editors, and anyone who needs an image or a short audio clip and wants the reuse rules written down. You can search from the browser with an anonymous request, and copy a suggested credit line, called attribution.⁵¹

Last checked October 29, 2026.

At a glance

What it is: A search engine for openly licensed and public-domain images and audio.¹

Works on: Desktops and mobile devices.³ Also in the WordPress block editor when your theme offers it.⁸

Price: Free and open for anonymous and registered use of the API.⁵ The terms reserve the right to charge fees for commercial use or heavy use.⁴

Licence: The software is under the MIT License.⁷ Results are described as openly licensed or public domain, and Openverse says it does not check each licence.¹

Best for: Finding a reusable image or audio clip, with a credit line, and without creating an account.

Official site: openverse.org

What Openverse does (and how it protects your privacy)

Openverse searches more than 800 million images and audio tracks from open APIs and the Common Crawl dataset.¹ An API is a way for one program to request data from another. The terms say Openverse aggregates metadata, the descriptions attached to those works, that the works are hosted on other websites, and that Openverse does not own or control them.⁴

Everyday search on openverse.org uses anonymous requests from the browser.⁵ You can read the licence and copy a suggested credit, then check the original page. Openverse says it does not verify the licence on each work, or whether the generated attribution is accurate or complete.¹

The catalog covers images and audio, and video search is provided through External Sources.¹ Openverse is the successor to CC Search, which Creative Commons launched in 2019 and which moved to WordPress in 2021.¹ The code is open source.¹

Key features of Openverse

Pictures and sound in one catalog. Image search and audio search share a library of more than 800 million works.¹
A credit you can copy. One-click attribution builds a suggested credit line for the work you choose.¹
Licence filters in the API. A search can ask for specific Creative Commons licence codes, or for the groups named commercial and modification. By default it also hides links to missing pages.⁵
Sensitive results stay off. They appear only after you opt in, and they start blurred.³
No account for ordinary search. The public website uses anonymous requests, which the project says are enough for most people.⁵
WordPress inserter. If your theme supports it, the block editor’s Media tab can insert an Openverse image and save a copy in your Media Library.⁸
Public code, still updated. The repository uses the MIT License, is not archived, and recorded a code push on 29 October 2026 (UTC).⁷

Pros and cons

Pros

You can search without creating an account.⁵
The catalog is built for openly licensed and public-domain works.¹
A suggested credit line comes with the result.¹
Sensitive content stays hidden until you turn it on.³
The code is public, and the repository is still receiving updates.⁷

Cons

Openverse indexes works hosted on other websites, and it does not control those files.⁴
Licence labels and credit lines are not checked by Openverse. You confirm them on the source page.¹
Anonymous use has rate limits, a cap on how many requests you can make, and a limit on page size and on how many works one search can show.⁵
Video search is provided through External Sources, outside the main image and audio catalog.¹
Anonymous analytics runs unless you opt out. Openverse says this does not identify you personally.²
The terms, effective 5 May 2022, reserve the right to charge fees for commercial use or for heavy use.⁴

Is Openverse safe and private?

Openverse says it follows the privacy policy of WordPress.org websites.² That policy says those sites collect the usual technical details a browser already sends, such as browser type, language, the site that linked you in, and the date and time of the visit.⁶ It also says they collect IP addresses. An IP address is the number that identifies your connection on the network. WordPress.org says it does not use IP addresses to identify visitors, and that it will not rent or sell personal information.⁶

Cookies on Openverse store your preferences and some browser details. The project calls these necessary cookies, and blocking them can affect how the site works.² Openverse says its analytics are anonymous, do not identify you personally, and that you can opt out on the privacy page.²

The search catalog is metadata about works hosted elsewhere.⁴ The software is developed in the open, in the WordPress/openverse repository on GitHub, under the MIT License.¹⁷ The terms require proper attribution for Creative Commons works, and they forbid scraping the catalog, which means copying it out in bulk.⁴ Moderators review reports of sensitive results, and a scan looks for sensitive terms in the metadata.³

How to get started with Openverse

Open openverse.org in your browser. Ordinary search uses an anonymous request.⁵
Type what you need, then switch between images and audio. Both are in the catalog.¹
Open a result and read the licence. If you need commercial use, or the right to change the work, check that the licence allows it. The API can filter by licence code and by the groups named commercial and modification.⁵
Copy the suggested attribution.¹ Then open the original page and confirm the credit, the licence, and the file. Openverse says it does not verify those details.¹
Sensitive results stay hidden until you turn on the Sensitive results switch. On a computer that switch is in the filter sidebar. On a phone it is in the Filter tab.³
If you publish with WordPress, open the block inserter, choose the Media tab, and pick Openverse when your theme lists it. WordPress saves the image into your Media Library.⁸
Visit the Openverse privacy page and opt out of anonymous analytics if you do not want those statistics.²

Who should use Openverse (and who might prefer something else)

Openverse fits people who publish a blog, a classroom handout, a community newsletter, or a small website, and who want the reuse rules visible before they download. Treat the credit line as a starting point, and check the original page before you publish.

If you want a curated free stock library you download from one site, see the Academy’s guide to Pexels. When a drawing would serve better than a photograph, Inkscape is a free illustration program. For the search itself, Mullvad Browser has fewer fingerprinting differences, which means your browser setup stands out less.

Frequently asked questions

Is Openverse free?

Searching is free to start. Openverse says the API is free and open for anonymous users and for people who register.⁵ The terms reserve the right to charge fees for commercial uses of Openverse or for heavy usage.⁴

Is Openverse safe?

Openverse says its analytics are anonymous, do not identify you personally, and that you can opt out.² It also says it follows the WordPress.org privacy policy, which says IP addresses are not used to identify visitors and personal information is not rented or sold.²⁶ For a particular picture, you still read the licence on the original page, because Openverse does not verify it.¹

Does Openverse work on iPhone?

Yes, in the phone’s browser. Openverse describes a Filter tab on mobile devices and a filter sidebar on desktops.³ In WordPress, the Openverse option appears only when the theme supports it.⁸

Is Openverse the same as CC Search?

Openverse is the successor to CC Search. Creative Commons launched CC Search in 2019, and the project moved to WordPress in 2021.¹