Tourists are just discovering this groundbreaking app that makes buying food and finding directions a breeze
Have you ever ordered the wrong food on holiday because you couldn’t read the menu?
Or maybe you wandered around a city for hours and couldn’t reach your destination because the signs weren’t in English.
Well, a little-known app can save you from these two big holiday stresses.
Google Lens is a free app, available on both Android and iOS, and has been described as a “travel companion” during the holiday season.
Google Lens is a free app, available for both Android and iOS, that uses the built-in smartphone camera to identify real-world objects
It’s essentially a real Google search, using the built-in camera on a smartphone to scan and identify real-world objects.
According to Google’s blog website, “(It) can instantly translate the text in front of you, whether you’re looking at a menu or a street sign.
“Point Lens at any text and it will automatically detect the language and superimpose the translations on the original words.”
You’ll find Google Lens in the Google app, the little camera icon next to the search bar.
Once you tap it, you’ll be presented with several options, including “Search” and “Translate.”
The app instantly translates over 100 languages, instantly detects the native language and translates it to the language of your choice.
Many people have used it to solve their menu problems by simply holding the camera over the menu and looking at it
The travel hack is well appreciated by TikTokers, who are just discovering the feature.
The app instantly translates over 100 languages, instantly detects the native language and translates it into the language of your choice
It is capable of translating real-world objects such as drug labels, food packages, and menus
A user @TravelTok described the app as a game changer, demonstrating its ability to quickly translate both medicine and food packaging.
Another frequent traveler, using the username @raimeetravels, showed how quickly the app can identify buildings or objects.
As she held her phone in front of the entrance to Center Pompidou Malaga, the app immediately gave Raimee the name of the contemporary art museum.
She added the caption, writing, “My new favorite thing.”
Some TikTokers have only just found the hidden feature and are sharing their discovery on the app
A TikTok traveler demonstrated how to get Google Lens to identify buildings and scanned a building for her
The app quickly identified the building as an art museum in Spain called Center Pompidou Malaga
TikTokers flocked to the comment section, thankful for the post, one of them said, “I used the translation option a lot last week in Japan. So helpful!’
The same feature is also available in the Google Translate app, which TikTok user Kate Bacon demonstrated.
She posted a tutorial on her account @kbacon and said, “You go to the Google Translate app, select your languages, click the camera icon and it translates all the text you see.”
Phone owners can access the same feature through the Google Translate app, all you have to do is click on the camera option
The app accesses Google Lens and translates the object word for word for them
The ‘quick and easy life hack’ was appreciated by her followers, who responded with ‘Thank you’ and ‘That sure has been a huge help!’
Google lens doesn’t just work for travel, you can also sharpen your shopping skills.
For example, if you see a random item you’re looking for outside the store, all you have to do is scan it and Google Lens will provide similar suggestions – all without you having to articulate what you’re looking for.