Google Search bar reportedly missing form Discover

Last year, Google Feed was renamed as Discover by the company. The revamp brought along a fresh design and new features along with a new name. Discover, as some of you may know, is a feature of Google app as well as google.com that suggests content as per users’ interest and liking.

Among the new features came topic headers that explain why a particular card is being suggested in Discover. Next to the topic header lies the Discover icon, tapping on which brings more related content, along with the ability to follow that particular topic for seeing more of such content in feed.

All in all, Discover basically personalizes the content with the help of machine learning to suit user interest. And just last month, Google Search Console added a Discover report feature to give publishers a clear statistical picture of how much traffic they get for their website from Discover.

Anyway, keeping all swanky features aside, of late, we are getting reports that Google Search bar has gone missing form the Discover/Google Feed page. As per reports, a doodle shows in place of the search bar with a blank space underneath it, followed by cards, but no Search bar.

Here’s how some of the affected users word the problem behavior across Google Search help forum:

I’ve woken up this morning and the Google search bar has disappeared from my discover/news feed screen. I can put it on the desktop but I don’t like clutter.

It’s definitely a bug, the search bar disappears when an animated doodle is shown. Although Google app shows the search bar even with the doodle. This happens only on Discover page (one that appears when you swipe right on home screen.

Same here. It came back for half a day and it’s gone again. I get the Google art and all my focus cards but no search

Following is a user shared image of no Search bar showing up in Discover/Google Feed.

Apart from the company’s official help forum and other online discussion platforms, similar reports can be seen posted in the Review section of the app’s Play Store listings page. Here’s what some of those affected have to say:

Other than Android user running the stock build, those who have launchers like Nova launcher and Google Now launcher installed on there units are also finding Google Search bar missing from Discover. Here’s what a couple of such user said while explaining the glitch:

It happens to me as well. OnePlus 6 with Nova launcher and Google Now companion

I use Nova Launcher with the Google discover integration, I swipe left from my home screen to view my Google feed. This morning my I no longer have a search bar, I have checked Nova settings and Google settings, everything seems to be in order.

Any ideas how to get my search bar back?

Here’s the image the same user shared:

It’s worth mentioning that ‘Search bar gone missing’ problem is being reported since the beginning of this month. Though Google app was updated just last week, it appears to have brought no change, as users continue complaining about the same till date.

Are you also finding Search bar missing form Discover lately? If so, drop a comment and let us know. And just in case you were able to fix this issue with a workaround, feel free to share it with other affected users by commenting below.

Rest assured, like always we are keeping an active tab on the matter, and will up date the story as and when any new development comes to sight.

NOTE: That’s not the only issue being reported with Google app. Recently we highlighted that a Wear OS Google app update has broken the voice-to-text functionality on smartwatches. Users say the mic input basically crashes as soon as one taps on the mic icon.

Affected users even shared video proofs regarding the same. You can read the complete coverage on the matter by heading here. And those of you who are interested in more Google-related news and stories may head here.

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