Google Lens introduces long-awaited image history feature

Google Lens
Google Lens

Key Points:

  • Google Lens now allows users to save their image search history.
  • Users can manually enable this feature in their Google account settings.
  • The update does not apply to Lens integration in Google Photos or the “Circle to Search” feature.

Google Lens, the powerful visual search tool from Google, has become even more user-friendly with its latest update. The much-anticipated addition of a Visual Search History feature now allows users to save and revisit their image searches, significantly enhancing the app’s practicality.

Before this update, Google Lens users faced the inconvenience of having to take photos with their camera app and then upload them for analysis, as the images were not saved on their devices. This new feature remedies that by enabling users to store images analyzed via Lens in their Google activity overview. These saved images can be accessed and re-analyzed at any time by visiting myactivity.google.com.

To take advantage of this new capability, users need to manually enable Visual Search History. This can be done by navigating to the Data & Privacy section under Web & App Activity at myaccount.google.com. It is worth noting, however, that this feature does not extend to the Lens integration within Google Photos or the “Circle to Search” feature, where image data remains transient.

The rollout of this feature is currently in progress and is expected to reach all users in the coming weeks. Google plans to notify users of this enhancement through a pop-up notification within the Lens app, ensuring everyone is aware of the new option available to them.