Image Searching-Have I Been Doing More Work Than I Need To?

[+ Gar1eth]

I've known about Google Image Search for years. But when I used to use it on my pc computer, I think I right clicked on the photo and the option came up. That method wasn't available on my iphone. I always ended up taking a screenshot of the photo. Uploading it to Dropbox. Then I would paste the URL of the now Dropbox photo into the browser address bar and conduct the search from there. 
 

But last week or so I was forwarding a photo in my iPhone photo album to an email or text. Looking at the options, I noticed there was a 'Search on Google.' I had never noticed this before and was mildly floored. This totally eliminates the need for me to upload screenshots to Dropbox first. Does anyone know whether  this option has been available for a long time, or is it fairly new?

[BigDMike]

I take it you updated your phone to IOS 27.0 ?

They've made a bunch of edits and while I am on 27, I see other options  I didn't see before...but google is not one of them.  Perhaps I'm in the wrong menu.  You can also edit what you see in those options so perhaps it was hidden before and now you can see it

 

[+ Gar1eth]

3 minutes ago, BigDMike said:

I take it you updated your phone to IOS 27.0 ?

They've made a bunch of edits and while I am on 27, I see other options  I didn't see before...but google is not one of them.  Perhaps I'm in the wrong menu.  You can also edit what you see in those options so perhaps it was hidden before and now you can see it

 

I'm on iOS 26.6.1. Here is my photo option list. 

i had to take two screenshots as it went out of frame. The option for Google search is 4th from the bottom on the second picture  

 

 

[BigDMike]

Yes, those must have been added when you did the final iOS 26 upgrade as things like eBay, CVS and SNOW are not standard but your phone found a browser extension or an app that had a plug in, allowing you to do this.  There are several advancements in photos in 27 so you are seeing initial updates

[+ JamesB]

From AI:

That option has been around for several years (since roughly 2021–2022), but it isn't an automatic built-in iOS feature—which is why so many people only stumble upon it by accident.

How It Got There

The "Search on Google" (or "Search with Google Lens") action in your iPhone's Share sheet appears only if you have the standalone Google app or Google Chrome installed on your device.

When installed, the app injects an action extension into Apple’s system Share menu. If you recently downloaded or updated the Google app, or if iOS reorganized your frequently used actions, the option likely popped into view for the first time.

Other Built-in Shortcuts You Might Have Missed

Because you have an iPhone, there are a couple of other ways to reverse-search images without ever touching Dropbox or a third-party upload:

Apple's Visual Look Up: Open almost any photo in Apple Photos. If iOS recognizes an object (a plant, dog breed, landmark, piece of art, or food recipe), you'll see a small star or sparkle icon over the (i) info button at the bottom. Tapping it pulls up instant identification details directly from Apple without using the Share sheet.

The Google App Camera Icon: If you open the Google app directly, there is a small camera icon (Google Lens) right in the search bar. Tapping that lets you choose any photo straight from your camera roll to search.

Long-press in Chrome: If you are browsing the web in the Chrome iOS app, long-pressing on any image brings up "Search Image with Google Lens," just like the right-click desktop experience you remembered.