At the beginning of 2018, Google’s decision to remove the “View image” button from the image search results could have broken the hearts of many. Particularly those that depend on the platform to obtain images for their different needs.
The change was the result of an agreement that Google had with Getty Images on the display of copyrighted content in the Google Images search results. On top of that, the ‘Search by image’ option has also been removed.
Now, to download images, users must visit the website where the image is hosted, and the process has become tedious and confusing at times.
It is believed that removing the ‘view image’ button from Google Images would attract more users to the websites and the decision benefits both users and publishers.
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Alternatives to the button View image of Google images
Whatever the case may be, users have started searching for Google image search alternatives and here are a couple of options that can help them.
Search for Bing
Microsoft’s Bing is another well-known search engine after Google. Fortunately, it still includes a feature similar to ‘view image’ that allows users to open image URLs with ease.
On the Bing image search page, look for the “View image” button at the bottom of the image. Load the full-size version of the image. Bing also includes filters that you can use to display images that are free to use.
The image of the view is also present in the image search of Yahoo that again works with Bing.
DuckDuckGo
DuckDuckGo which is known for its privacy and anti-tracking features also includes the option to download images directly from the search results.
On the image search results page of DuckDuckGo, click on any image thumbnail you want. Then click on the ‘View file’ button to load the image in full resolution.
Get the ‘View image’ button again: Firefox and Chrome extensions
If what you want is to continue working with Google Images, a couple of determined developers have a solution for you. A browser extension called View Image ( Chrome, Firefox ) returns the button of the same name in Google Search, along with the “Search by image” option.
The functionality is also enabled by another extension called “View Image” button of Google Search (Chrome, Firefox ). To be safe while using the View Image button, you can enable the “Labeled for reuse” filter in Google Search.
Go beyond Google image search
You’re a big fan of Google Images, but it’s just a search giant that gets images from a variety of websites. Even if you choose the “Labeled for reuse” filter, it does not guarantee that the images you download will be free of copyright.
Take this into account when looking for images.
We hope that these methods have helped you easily get the images you want, if you know of any other method, share it with us in the comments section.