this post was submitted on 21 Apr 2026

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F-Droid is an installable catalogue of FOSS (Free and Open Source Software) applications for the Android platform. The client makes it easy to browse, install, and keep track of updates on your device.

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[App] I made a Circle to Search alternative that works on any Android (with multiple search engines) (lemmy.ml)

submitted 5 days ago by Aditya_151@lemmy.world to c/fdroid@lemmy.ml

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Why Use This Circle To Search App?

The Problem with Google's CTS Version

Forced Cloud Syncing: Uploads your selection to servers even when you just want to copy text.
Get's accidentally triggerd frequently, exposing sensitive data instantly to google
Ecosystem Lock-in: Restricted to Google Search—no support for Bing, Yandex, or AI models.
Locked to Google ecosystem—no choice of search engine
Missing Features: Useful features like "Share" and "Save" have been stripped out.
Hardware Exclusivity: Only available on expensive flagship devices (Pixel 8, Galaxy S24+).

What We Do Differently

Only what you circle gets processed—nothing else
True Offline OCR: Text recognition works 100% locally on your device—no internet needed.
QR detection offline, Smart Scan offline—no unnecessary servers
Universal Compatibility: Works with any search engine (Google, Bing, Yandex, TinEye,).
Restored Utility: We brought back the "Share" and "Save" features Google removed.
Works on any Android device, not just expensive flagships
Works on De-Googled Devices no google programs needed.
And has many other useful features

100% Independent: Works on any Android phone (Android 10+), without requiring Google Play Services or OEM-specific software.

Privacy-First: No background tracking or logs—just pure on-device selection.

➥ Download:
- github

It still needs a lot of improvements and isn't polished yet, as I am a solo developer working on it. You can download it from GitHub for now, as the new update is yet to be released on F-Droid.

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[–] otter@lemmy.ca 5 points 5 days ago (1 children)

This is cool! My only concern is with the image uploads. I'd like to be able to stop it from uploading to the fallback since I don't want the images to stick around permanently. Or one more confirmation before uploading, in case I trigger it accidentally.

[–] Aditya_151@lemmy.world 7 points 5 days ago (1 children)

That’s a valid concern, and I’ve been thinking about it too.

In future updates, I’m planning to remove services like litterbox/catbox completely and move toward a self-hosted approach, where your own device acts as the server and the image is shared directly with the selected search engine.

I’m also considering adding an extra confirmation step to prevent accidental uploads.

That said, I’d still recommend avoiding uploading sensitive images—once something is sent to a search engine, it’s out of the app’s control and may be used by them to improve their services

[–] otter@lemmy.ca 1 points 5 days ago

That sounds good!

[–] BeatTakeshi@lemmy.world 4 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Wonderful! Thank you. I did not manage to replace the default long press of Google search, and I don't use the status bar, only gestures. But happy with the floating button.

[–] Aditya_151@lemmy.world 2 points 5 days ago

You can disable the native Google CTS long-press gesture from your device’s navigation or launcher settings—it depends on your device or ROM.

As for replacing the native Google gesture, it’s reserved for Google only, so third-party apps can’t override it directly.

That’s why apps use workarounds like a bottom overlay to trigger CTS or other actions. This app already supports that—you just need to set it up manually.

[–] machine2918@lemmy.world 4 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Do I need to do anything else than allow restricted settings, turn on accessibility and switch to CTS for the launcher? Mine still opens the default Google CTS.

[–] Aditya_151@lemmy.world 3 points 5 days ago (2 children)

It can be invoked in two ways:

Double-tap on the status bar – this method requires accessibility permission.
Set it as your default assistant – once set, you can trigger it just like your device’s default assistant (the exact gesture depends on your device).

If you prefer using a bottom gesture, you can move the overlay to the bottom of the screen. After that, you’ll be able to invoke it by long-pressing the bottom area of your screen.

[–] otter@lemmy.ca 3 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Its weird that google sends the bottom gesture to their own assistant even when you set a different default.

double tapping the status bar opens this new one
power button method opens this new one
bottom of screen opens Google's annoying interface

[–] Bryan065@kbin.earth 3 points 5 days ago (1 children)

I'm in the same boat. I use gesture navigation so I have the pill at the bottom.

Holding that still opens Google's interface.

@Aditya_151@lemmy.world is there anyway to hook into that?

I guess for now the workaround is to enable accessibility service and move the overlay to the bottom.

edit1: also make sure to disable OG circle to search.

edit2: seems promising but doesn't do OCR text copy like OG circle to search (a future I use a lot). Will be keeping an eye on this.

[–] Aditya_151@lemmy.world 1 points 5 days ago

By default, it uses a fast English model to keep the app size small, which can miss some text. You can download and import a more accurate OCR language model for the best accuracy from dev's telegram group.

[–] machine2918@lemmy.world 1 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Shame, would use if it actually replaced the Google CTS natively.

[–] Aditya_151@lemmy.world 1 points 5 days ago

You can disable the native Google CTS long-press gesture from your device’s navigation or launcher settings—it depends on your device or ROM.

As for replacing the native Google gesture, it’s reserved for Google only, so third-party apps can’t override it directly.

That’s why apps use workarounds like a bottom overlay to trigger CTS or other actions. This app already supports that—you just need to set it up manually.