If you still use Google Chrome, then you may have noticed that the browser displays a Google Lens entry in the address bar. It is still rolling out I guess, but more and more installations get this.
With Google Lens integration, Chrome users may run searches for anything that they see on the page. So, activate Google Lens with a click or tap, and then draw around the element on the page that you want to know more about.
You can select text and run a search, but this is not really new, as you can do so easily already in all browsers. Lens lets you select anything though, which means that you can search for images or elements in images, and also text in images that you cannot select using basic text selection options in browsers.
Google Lens in Chrome depends on Google Search as the default search provider. It is also good to know that page data is transferred to Google whenever Lens is used in Chrome.
Some Chrome users will find Lens useful. Not for plain text, as you can do so already. Maybe for quick translating, but the core use is to search for anything that cannot be selected individually. So, a person in an image, text shown in videos or images, or any other element that is shown on the screen.
How to disable Google Lens in Chrome
You can, at least temporarily, disable Google Lens in Chrome. Here is how this is done:
- Load chrome://flags/#enable-lens-overlay in the address bar.
- Set the status of Lens overlay to Disabled.
- Restart Google Chrome.
This disables the interface in Chrome.
Note: Experimental Flags like Lens Overlay may come and go at any time. It is possible that Google is going to remove the flag in a future version of Chrome. This would remove the option to disable Google Lens in Chrome, unless Google decides to integrate an option in the Chrome Settings.
What is your take on Google Lens in Chrome? Something that you would use, maybe if launched in a different browser. Feel free to leave a comment down below.
A pop up by any other name still stinks.
Google Lens on Android came in handy during the summer when I was cleaning out a Storage Unit. There were boxes and boxes that had been handed down to me, and I hadn’t opened any of them for years. Short story–I found some really neat stuff that I could take a pic of and use Google Lens to find either what the item was or how much the item was worth. Just finishing. It was an interesting journey.