Google Pixel Phones Have a Strange Bug — Circle to Search Keeps Popping Up Randomly

There are few things more annoying than a phone feature that won’t stop interrupting you. That’s exactly what’s happening to a growing number of Google Pixel owners.

Multiple users across the Pixel lineup — from the aging Pixel 6 all the way up to the Pixel 9 Pro — report that Circle to Search keeps triggering on its own after they updated to Android 16. The issue was first spotted by Android Authority.

The most vocal complaints came from a Pixel 7 user who noticed the bug immediately. Every time he closed WhatsApp and swiped up to return to the home screen or open the recent apps view, Circle to Search would fire up unprompted. It’s the kind of thing that gets old fast when you switch between apps dozens of times a day.

He wasn’t alone. Other Pixel 9 Pro, Pixel 9a, Pixel 7a, Pixel 6 Pro, and Pixel 6 owners chimed in with the same story. Some reported the bug after dismissing Telegram, suggesting the problem isn’t tied to one specific app. The common thread appears to be Android’s gesture navigation system — the swipe-up motion that triggers the app switcher seems to occasionally misfire and launch Circle to Search instead.

Google’s Pixel support team has reached out to some affected users to gather more details, but the company hasn’t released an official fix or even acknowledged the scope of the problem publicly. There’s no workaround guide either, leaving Pixel owners to deal with a feature that pops up at the worst possible moments.

Circle to Search is a genuinely useful tool when you summon it on purpose. It lets you quickly search anything on your screen by drawing a circle around it. But a feature that keeps interrupting app-switching gestures isn’t a feature — it’s a bug that needs patching.