What is Google Lens? How to use Google's image recognition to identify objects with your Android or iPhone camera

• Google Lens uses image recognition to identify landmarks, plants, animals, and more.
• Google Lens also facilitates reverse image searches and can translate text.
• Google Lens is available as a standalone app for Android users and incorporated as a feature in other Google-owned apps.

Google Lens is a tool that uses Google's image recognition technology to help you navigate the real world. 

It can help you recognize a brand logo, pinpoint a location, figure out who someone is, identify a product, and so much more. It's useful, fun, and almost unnervingly effective to implement.

Here's what you'll need to do to start using this helpful tool to identify images around you:

What images can Google Lens identify?

You can use Google Lens to identify images on your camera and gain more information about landmarks, plants, animals, products, and other objects. It can also be used to scan and auto-translate text. You can use Google Lens to scan images already in your photo library or, with an Android phone, you can activate Google Lens directly as you snap a new image.

Google Lens is also incorporated into Google Images: Snap a photo with it to perform a reverse image search.

Google Lens has numerous useful applications. You can use it to look up plants or insects you encounter to see if they're dangerous; you can use it to translate foreign street signs; and you can even use it to check out that funky rash you've developed (though Google points out that its technology should not be considered a medical diagnosis). 

Google Lens is also deeply embedded in the Google ecosystem, making it convenient to use it through other apps like Google Photos, Google Assistant, and Google's search engine.

Google Lens also has its disadvantages, however. Critics have complained that the technology is not yet sophisticated enough to be useful. It sometimes struggles with accuracy and fails to recognize products or brands.

How to use Google Lens

Google Lens should be enabled by default on Android phones. If not, the standalone Google Lens app is available for download for Android phones in the Google Play store. While iPhone users can't download the standalone app, Google Lens is still incorporated into other iOS-compatible apps like Google Translate or Chrome.

Here's how to use the Google Lens app to identify images on an Android phone:

1. Open the Google Lens app and swipe down.

2. Select "Open Camera" and grant the app approval to use the camera.

3. Take a photo of whatever you want Google Lens to identify by tapping the search button in the bottom-center section of the screen.

Once you snap the photo and Google Lens identifies the image, you'll get a list of relevant information about it.

You can select from a number of different options depending on the content your photo; use the document icon to scan text, the character icons to translate text, the shopping cart icon for shopping information, or the fork and knife icon for restaurant info, to name several useful examples.

How to use Google Lens through Google Photos

You can also access Google Lens via the Google Photos app.

First, snap a photo of whatever you want to identify (or you can have an image already in your camera roll that you want to inspect with Google Lens). Next, open the Google Photos app, select the relevant photo, and then tap the Google Lens icon.

From there, you will be able to access many of the tools and features mentioned above on in relation to Android phones. You will be able to identify locations (including screenshots from Google Street View), people (both friends and family in your own photos, and famous people like Google CEO Sundar Pichai), products, logos and more, all to the best of Google Lens' ability.

Just remember, while you can use Google Lens via Google Photos on your iPhone or iPad, some of your options will be limited; for instance, you won't be able to identify products via their barcodes. Overall, the user experience will be mostly the same for Android and iOS users, though.