Google Image Search Doesn't Work
udu3324 opened this issue · comments
System
- OS name: Windows
- OS version: 10
- Browser name: Chrome
- Browser version: 106.0.5249.119 (Official Build) (64-bit) (cohort: Stable)
- Extension version: 5.3.0
Bug description
When right clicking on a image and searching using google, it pops up a new tab without searching for it.
How to Produce Bug
1, Have a image to test on
2, Right click the image
3, Click on Search by Image > Google
4, Observe the bug
I can't yet reproduce the issue, it's possible that Google is A/B testing a change. If the issue turns out to be widespread, we could work around it by loading the "Find image source" link from Google Lens, though we do have to warm up to the idea of Google eventually deprecating their legacy reverse image search service. If there are other users experiencing this bug, please post a comment here.
Same here, new tab -> only empty Google Image Search page. Fedora 36 with Firefox
Is the issue also present with the "Select image" search mode, or just with "Select URL"? You can switch between search modes from the extension's options.
I tried the Select Image mode and it worked
Looking at the network trace the extension makes a "https://www.google.com/searchbyimage?image_url=" request with the URL to the image added to the end percent encoded. The google server then responds with a redirect to "https://www.google.com/imghp?sbi=1" with no intermediate steps.
I was able to reproduce this issue a couple of times, but only with Tor Browser. It looks like some visitors outside the US are now redirected to the homepage instead of their region-specific site when attempting to search with a URL using the legacy search service.
Here's an example for testing:
https://www.google.com/searchbyimage?image_url=https%3A%2F%2Fupload.wikimedia.org%2Fwikipedia%2Fcommons%2F4%2F41%2FLethejalaurida.jpg
In some cases I was able to prevent the redirection by appending &gws_rd=cr&gl=US, but it did not always work.
It's not yet clear if this is a regression on Google's side or if they are slowly rolling out an intentional change in some regions, so it's best to switch away from this search method now.
When searching from the Chrome context menu while Google Lens is disabled, the browser appears to always upload the image, so it's possible that they are shutting down the legacy service responsible for searching with an image URL, now that it was completely replaced by Google Lens on google.com.
The easiest way to avoid uploading the image when the "Select URL" search mode is used would be to search with Google Lens and hide the results, while immediately redirecting to Google Images using the search results URL they provide.
I have this bug and I selected the Google option.
Please fix it :-(((
it just opens https://www.google.com/imghp?sbi=1 and nothing happens (no popup window that the image is uploaded etc)
In Lens there is a button "Find source" and it redirects to: https://www.google.com/search?tbs=sbi:XXXX.... and it works
Switch to the "Select image" search mode until an update is released, you can change the search mode for the context menu and the toolbar popup from the extension's options.
Same here. Firefox 106.0.5 on Windows 10, extension version 5.3.0.
I did some further tests, searching with the image URL on Google Lens and then loading the provided Google Images link mostly works on desktop, but it returns a 404 status on mobile. We could work around that by modifying the user agent, but that is not supported in Safari.
Uploading the image file to Google Images and Google Lens continues to work without issues on all platforms supported by the extension.
It looks like the bug still only affects some regions, I could only trigger the issue in Tor Browser with exit nodes from Sweden and Norway, but in other EU countries it worked as expected.
I think we should disable searching with an image URL entirely on Google Images, and upload the image instead so that it works for everyone regardless of your country. In a couple of weeks we will see if Google rolls out this change to all regions and we'll be in a better position to find a method for searching with an image URL that works on all platforms.
The next extension update will change how we search on Google and it will always upload the image, even with the "Select URL" search mode. I'll publish a new version in the next few days.
Has anyone from the US been affected by this bug when connecting from their home IP address?
Version 5.4.0 has been submitted to extension stores, you should receive an update in the next few days. I'll reopen this issue for better visibility.
Version 5.4.0 has been published everywhere.
Found this info on git from a on a similar extension with the same issue:
Due to a recent change in google image search client=firefox-b-d has to be added in the query. Any client name will do, as long as the client parameter has a value, but seems like firefox-b-d is the standard client name for queries originated from Firefox.
I don't know yet if this is a confirmed fix. Just thought it might be useful info.
It may indeed just be a temporary thing, but I notice that every image I try to look up on Google Image Search currently gives this message, and has for nearly a day:
Search by image is unavailable. Please try again in a few hours.
Also, going through Google View and then clicking the Search by Image option still works. So clearly Search by Image isn't completely down.
@trlkly, which extension version do you use? Please also share your browser, OS, and the country or continent you browse from.
Image Search version: 5.4.0
Browser: Chrome 107.0.5304.107
OS: Windows 10 Pro 19044.2130 (21H1)
Country: United States
@trlkly, thanks for the details! By Google View in your first comment you meant Google Lens?
It may indeed just be a temporary thing, but I notice that every image I try to look up on Google Image Search currently gives this message, and has for nearly a day:
Search by image is unavailable. Please try again in a few hours.
Also, going through Google View and then clicking the Search by Image option still works. So clearly Search by Image isn't completely down.
same for me today, its was working fine before
The next update will restore searching directly with an image URL, and image uploading should also be fixed.
Version 5.4.2 has been published, make sure to install the latest version of the extension.
Version 5.4.2 has been published, make sure to install the latest version of the extension.
Latest version available for Firefox is 3.0.12 last updated 3 years ago and it decidedly doesn't work with that one. Latest in the Chrome web store is 0.0.7.5 updated back in 2020 and it also doesn't work with that one.
@Tiffys, that does not sound right, you should follow the download links here to install the correct extension: https://github.com/dessant/search-by-image#readme