Google is introducing a feature that will let you use screen shots to search the app for related content, according to a fresh leak.
The feature, known only as Smart Screenshot, is set to combine two key screenshot functions from the Google app and Google Assistant to give users more options when it comes to search. The new feature will reportedly allow users to edit and share screenshots directly within the Google app and use those images to search for related content directly within the app.
9to5Google discovered the changes after crawling through an APK of the latest 10.61 beta of the Google app earlier this week.
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The site spotted a string that described Smart Screenshot as a feature designed to be used to ‘edit your screenshots, explore them with Lens, share them with a link, and more’. It also came across a toolbar featuring four screenshot editing options – a share button, Google Lens, a frequently used app and a scaled down copy of your screenshot laying under a pencil icon, presumably to represent the edit screenshot option.
The Lens option is set to be used to ‘find similar items’, which could indicate that the option to search for similar content is powered by the same visual search tech found in Lens and currently used in other Google apps, like Chrome.
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Despite these new additions to the Google App, 9to5Google predict that the current annotate, crop and share options and how users access and use them will likely remain the same.
It isn’t yet clear whether the new Smart Screenshot features will expand outside of the Google app but there is a chance the app could push notifications to nudge users to edit and share screenshots after they take them.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
