“Touch to Search” is a very neat feature of the Chrome browser on Android oh-so-many users have been enjoying ever since spring last year. It allows users to long-tap on any word or select a phrase in Chrome on Android, which signals to Chrome to start a Google search for it instantly. However, Google is one of the few companies that can just trim down the functionality many users are using daily without explaining why. So, the recent updates of Chrome for Android, even the standard version of it, have come mysteriously devoid of Touch to Search.
If you are among those flabbergast by the mysterious disappearance, and you want your Touch to Search back, there is a workaround tweak that can remedy your woes. You have to launch Chrome and head to the flags page. You might have to type the URL manually:
- chrome://flags
- Next, find “Enable Contextual Search.” The list of options is quite lengthy, so you might want to resort to the “find on page” option and either enter the full title:
- chrome://flags/#contextual-search
- Tap Default → choose Enabled
- At the bottom of the page, find Relaunch now.
- Re-launch your browser, and go to its Settings → Privacy → scroll down to find the option named, ta-dam!, “Touch to Search.”
- Tap to enable it.
“Touch to Search” for Chrome on Android should be back for all Chrome editions – standard, dev and beta. Phew, hope this helps. Happy New Year, folks!
