4 Ways to Disable Google Lens Image Search in Chrome

Google has been integrating Lens in most of the products it releases. Following the huge increase in integration, Lens has now replaced the legacy reverse image search in Chrome. However, this change might not be for everyone, you may not like the results. Thankfully, it is possible for you to switch back to the old image search. In this article, I have given you 4 different ways to disable Google Lens Image Search in Chrome.  

How to Disable Google Lens Image Search in Chrome?  

Google introduced the Google Lens back in 2017. The Lens is an image searching feature that uses AI and machine learning to provide intelligent search results. This can help in real-time language translation; it can also provide links to the image source.  

Prior to the Lens’s introduction, Chrome used the regular reverse image search when you used the “Search image on google” option in right-click menu. However, now, Google uses Lens to find what is in the photo at a deeper level.  

Not everyone might prefer the results produced by the Lens. So, for all the people who would rather prefer the image search on Google instead of the Lens, this article will show you how to disable Lens Image Search in Chrome. The provided methods will also work if you are using other Chromium-based browsers.  

Method 1- You can Disable Lens Image Search with Chrome Flags  

Google lens search is an inbuilt Chrome feature recently added to the browser. Well, thankfully you can just visit the flags page and easily disable it on Chrome for PC. Follow the given steps to do so:  

• Step 1: Copy and paste chrome://flags/#enable-lens-region-search in the Chrome address bar.  
• Step 2: After you copy and paste it, you will be directed to the experiments page with “Search your Screen with Google Lens” highlighted in yellow.  
• Step 3: Click the drop-down menu next to it, then select the Disabled option, then relaunch Chrome.  

Now, whenever you right-click an image to search it, Google will be using the old Google image search instead of the Google Lens.  

Method 2- Using Search By Image Extension  

Search By Image is a powerful extension that allows the user to reverse search for an image on numerous platforms. All you need to do is right-click on an image, then select the search engine you wish to use.  

Using it, you can still keep the Google Lens Search while using the old Google Image Search together in the right-click menu. This can be set it up in a few easy steps:  

• Step 1: Locate Search By Image on the Chrome Web Store.  
• Step 2: Click on the option that says Add to Chrome. Then, click on Add Extension to confirm the action.  
• Step 3: Right-click on any image you wish, and select Search by Image.  
• Step 4: Here, you will be able to choose Google to search with Google image search. Or you can choose the site you want to search on.  

You also have the ability to click All Search Engines to search the image on all search engines simultaneously.  

To search only on Google without adding extra steps, navigate to extension settings, here uncheck all other search engines except Google Images.  

Method 3- You can Use “Try it” to Use the Old Reverse Image Search  

Let’s say you do not mind having Google Lens; however, you still want an option to search on Google images in case the result does not match what you were searching for. Well, Google provides you the ability to retry searching the image on Google search. Given below is the location where you can find that option.  

• Step 1: First, right-click on an image, then search with the default Google Lens.  
• Step 2: After the result page appears, scroll down. You will be able to see a message saying, “Didn’t find what you were looking for? Retry with Google Images,” this will be accompanied by a Try it button next to it.  
• Step 3: Click on the Try button it to search the image again on Google Image Search.  

After you click the button, it will search the image on Google Images. You will also be able to directly open images.google.com on another tab, here just drag and drop images on it to search through Google. 

Method 4- You can disable Lens Using Chrome Flags on Android  

Just like the PC version, the Chrome browser on Android uses Google Lens to reverse search images, as well. As there are no extensions to help you out on Android, the flags approach will be taken to disable the feature. The steps are explained below.  

• Step 1: First, copy and paste chrome://flags/#context-menu-translate-with-google-lens in the Chrome address bar.  
  • In case the option does not show up for you, you would have to enable the #temporary-unexpire-flags-m95 as well as the #temporary-unexpire-flags-m96 on the flags page.  
• Step 2: Open the drop-down menu next to it, then tap on Disabled.  
• Step 3: Then, relaunch Chrome on your phone.  

After this when you image search on Chrome, it will search with the default Google image search. iPhone, as well as iPad users, do not need to follow the method as Chrome for iOS still uses the Image Search by default.  

The other option you might be able to consider is to disable the Google app on your phone. Doing so will not change anything, all it would do is just break the option. Hence, no point in trying.  

Wrapping Up  

Google Lens is a handy implementation that adds tons of extra features. However, as already mentioned it might not be everyone’s cup of tea as of now. It may be annoying for some and could not be as reliable in terms of results.  

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