Hidden Google features and products we bet you didn’t know!

One cannot be a techie and not admire Google at the same time. In all likelihood, it is safe to assume that if you have an internet connection (which is how you reached here) you have interacted with a Google product and may be doing it on a daily basis. (unless you are from C.H.I.N.A).

Just to give you a picture, if 100 searches are made on the internet, 92 of them are made through Google. So what makes me write this blog? You all know Google. Pfftt.. I mean who doesn’t. Well, over the years, I found some hidden Google features that most of my colleagues/friends weren’t aware of. So, I decided to share them all with you. Let’s get started:

1. Add me to search

I came across this feature by Google in August 2020. Google allows you to create a virtual business card for yourself so that whenever someone searches for your name, instead of Facebook, LinkedIn profiles, your business card pops up. Pretty handy right? Now I can fulfil my age old dream wherein if someone asks me about my details, I can simply say “Google Me”.

For some reason this works only on searches made through phone and not laptop which makes sense as this is likely to be used while having a conversation with someone on the go.

How to create your virtual business card? Just head to Google and type “add me to search” (works on phone only). Fill in the required details and voila! You can add links to your social media accounts like LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram etc. That is what we call a truly connected world right?

2. Earworm Recognizer

Okay, before you google the name and start bashing me, this name was given by me. Bear with me, I have a logic behind it. So have you ever been in a situation where a damn song is stuck in your head and you are just NOT able to recall the lyrics? It is so annoying at times that you aren’t able to sleep properly (at least I have this issue). Yes, we name such songs as earworms.

What do you do then?

Well, this hidden Google feature has an answer. You simply open your Google virtual assistant (assuming you have one) and say, “Recognize this song”. Now you have option of humming as well. Just that good ol’ Ta Da Da Duru ruu’ is enough for Google to rescue you.

Watch this in action below. Yes it is a 90’s classic hit song massacred brutally by Arman Malik recently.

Go ahead give it a shot.

3. Google photoscan

Yes, this one is available if you search by its name. This is an old application of Google but rarely talked about. I recently visited my native place during lockdown and realized there are tons of old photographs rotting away. These images are too precious to be taken for granted like this. Millennials may not relate to it but those were tough times. You had to wait for at least a week before you could see if you are looking fat or fine in the photograph.

Photoscan will help you to digitize these old photographs and save them safely in your Google Drive or Gallery or whatever. Conventional problem with clicking picture from a picture is that it leaves a glare or reflection on the photo and borders are never right. They solve that problem by asking you to click photos from 5 different angles and stitching it together. It is almost like something you actually took from your phone.

You can download this hidden gem from Google from:

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.photos.scanner&referrer=utm_source%3Dlanding

iOS: https://apps.apple.com/app/apple-store/id1165525994

4. Google 3D

Now this is one of those features which don’t enhance your productivity or don’t have any utility per se. But yes they are fun to use. Google uses virtual reality to make certain animals come to life.

It is super simple to enable this. Simply search for an animal. I have tried it with dog, panda, tiger, cheetah. You will find an option in the Google search itself to view it in 3D.

In case you don’t see this option in your search, chances are that you need to update/install Google AR.

Head over to https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.ar.core&hl=en_IN&gl=US for that.

Here are a few pictures to see this in action:

Conclusion

So were you aware of all these hidden features of Google? I would request you all to try these out and let me know in the comments section how’d you find them. I can do a another blogpost for more such features.

Until Next Time..