How to Use Google Lens Features in Google Photos for Android and iPhone

While Google Lens is available as a standalone app, you can still access its features in Google Photos if you want to use them on existing photos on your device. Today's article will show you how to use Google Lens to translate text, identify objects, and more in the Google Photos app.

How to copy, search, listen to, and translate text in Google Photos

Whether you're using the iOS or Android version of Google Photos, you can follow these steps to translate text, copy text from an image, listen to text, or even look it up on Google:

1. Get Google Photos for | (Free, with subscription)

1. Open the Google Photos app on your iPhone or Android device.
2. Select the photo with the text you want to use Google Lens on.
3. Tap the Lens option at the bottom. Google Lens will then analyze the photo and give you relevant information.
4. Now, tap to highlight any text on the image to reveal the available actions in the bottom menu. You can move the text holder to select more text, and depending on what you're looking for, you can tap the Copy text , Search , Listen , or Translate buttons to get the information you need.

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How to search for any item or object in an image on Google Photos

The steps are essentially the same if you need more information about a vehicle, location, landmark, product, or any item in an image saved on your phone. However, you'll need to do it differently. Here's what you need to do:

Open the image of interest in the Google Photos app. Tap the Lens option in the bottom menu and wait for the app to analyze the photo.

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If the image contains a single object or item, that object or item will be automatically selected and relevant search results will appear at the bottom. You can scroll up to find more results and tap to open the result you want. However, if there are multiple objects, you will need to tap each specific object to get its individual information.

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For more accurate results, adjust the markers to cover only the object you want to search for.

Google Photos makes it easy to access Google Lens features

With Google Lens features built into the Google Photos app, you can learn more about text, objects, and scenes in your photos and take action on them without leaving the app. Even better, it comes with ease of use and free access for everyone.

Jessica Tanner

Update 12 January 2025