# Changelog of Google Lens Search: Reverse Image Finder & OCR (`getascraper/google-lens-visual-search`) Actor

- **URL**: https://apify.com/getascraper/google-lens-visual-search/changelog.md
- **Full Actor documentation**: https://apify.com/getascraper/google-lens-visual-search.md

## Changelog

All notable changes to this Actor are documented in this file.

### \[0.8] - 2026-09-24

#### Fixed

- 🐛 Visual search works again. After a recent Google change, image searches in visual modes were ending in errors or timeouts. They now return visual matches, exact matches, related links, and the AI description of the image.
- 🛠️ Result links now point straight to the real store or product page instead of an intermediate Google link.

#### Changed

- 🛡️ When Google briefly refuses a search, the Actor now retries automatically, so far more searches finish successfully.
- ⚡ A typical visual search now finishes in under a minute.
- ℹ️ OCR mode is unaffected and works as before.

### \[0.7] - 2026-09-04

#### Changed

- ⚡ Visual search modes now stop quickly and explain the problem when Google refuses the request, instead of retrying for several minutes. This avoids charging for a run that cannot succeed.
- ℹ️ OCR mode, the default, is unaffected and continues to work normally.

### \[0.6] - 2026-09-04

#### Fixed

- 🐛 Increased the time a visual search will wait for Google to respond over a residential connection. Searches that previously gave up too early now have time to complete.

### \[0.5] - 2026-09-04

#### Fixed

- 🐛 Reworked how visual searches are submitted to Google Lens. Searches now start far more reliably and finish faster, instead of stalling and returning nothing.

### \[0.4] - 2026-09-04

#### Fixed

- 🐛 Fixed a case where a run could hang for up to an hour on a degraded proxy connection instead of failing over to a fresh attempt within a few minutes.

### \[0.3] - 2026-09-04

#### Fixed

- 🐛 Fixed a race condition that could make a run hang far longer than expected on a slow visual-search upload, instead of failing quickly or recovering automatically.

### \[0.2] - 2026-09-03

#### Changed

- ⚡ Lowered the default number of saved results so a standard run finishes faster. Fully adjustable for larger pulls.

### \[0.1.2] - 2026-08-09

#### Added

- ✨ Added a clearer guide for choosing OCR, Web Detection, Direct Lens, or a browser-reviewed result link.
- 🧭 Added a step-by-step workflow for single images and small image batches.

#### Changed

- ⚙️ Made the first-run explanation focus on dependable text results and honest visual-search outcomes.
- 📊 Refined the dataset documentation so source links, match groups, text status, and processing time are easier to find.
- 🎨 Refined the Store presentation so the hero, feature cards, workflow, and review callout stay readable across themes.
- ⭐ Added a simple review invitation for teams that found the image results useful.

#### Fixed

- 🐛 Clarified that an image with no readable text is a successful, empty OCR result rather than a broken run.
- 🩹 Clarified that blocked or unverifiable visual searches are not presented as successful match records.

### \[0.1.1] - 2026-08-09

#### Added

- Dependable OCR-first runs that work without extra credentials.
- Optional Web Detection results for matching pages, images, entities, and labels.
- A transparent manual Lens handoff for browser-completed searches.

#### Changed

- Expanded the dataset views for text, web results, and handoff links.
- Kept incomplete or unverifiable searches out of the chargeable result dataset.
- OCR results now say explicitly when an image contains no readable text.

### \[0.1.0] - 2026-08-09

#### Added

- Clear visual-match and exact-match result views.

#### Changed

- Image searches now give clearer feedback when a result cannot be returned.

#### Fixed

- Failed image attempts no longer appear as dataset results.