[GH-ISSUE #1219] [BUG] Image search no longer working after Google's JS requirment change #730

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opened 2026-02-25 20:36:25 +03:00 by kerem · 8 comments
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Originally created by @Br0kenSilos on GitHub (Jan 23, 2025).
Original GitHub issue: https://github.com/benbusby/whoogle-search/issues/1219

Describe the bug
It seems that after Google changed the requirement for JS to be enabled on the user agent and after the fixes for that were implemented, the "Image" search produces no results the same way regular search were producing no results. This is not a big deal for me, just something I noticed and wanted to report it.

To Reproduce
Steps to reproduce the behavior:

  1. Go to your Whoogle instance
  2. Type in something to search for.
  3. When the search results appear, click the "Images" tab.
  4. You will see no results. This only seems to be happening with Images. The other tabs all appear to be working.

Deployment Method

  • Heroku (one-click deploy)
  • [X ] Docker
  • run executable
  • pip/pipx
  • Other: [describe setup]

Version of Whoogle Search

  • [ X] Latest build from [source] (i.e. GitHub, Docker Hub, pip, etc)
  • Version [0.9.3]
  • Not sure

Desktop (please complete the following information):

  • OS: [Windows 10/11, and Linux Mint]
  • Browser [FireFox, Chrome, Edge]
  • Version [Latest on all]

Additional context

Originally created by @Br0kenSilos on GitHub (Jan 23, 2025). Original GitHub issue: https://github.com/benbusby/whoogle-search/issues/1219 **Describe the bug** It seems that after Google changed the requirement for JS to be enabled on the user agent and after the fixes for that were implemented, the "Image" search produces no results the same way regular search were producing no results. This is not a big deal for me, just something I noticed and wanted to report it. **To Reproduce** Steps to reproduce the behavior: 1. Go to your Whoogle instance 2. Type in something to search for. 3. When the search results appear, click the "Images" tab. 4. You will see no results. This only seems to be happening with Images. The other tabs all appear to be working. **Deployment Method** - [ ] Heroku (one-click deploy) - [X ] Docker - [ ] `run` executable - [ ] pip/pipx - [ ] Other: [describe setup] **Version of Whoogle Search** - [ X] Latest build from [source] (i.e. GitHub, Docker Hub, pip, etc) - [ ] Version [0.9.3] - [ ] Not sure **Desktop (please complete the following information):** - OS: [Windows 10/11, and Linux Mint] - Browser [FireFox, Chrome, Edge] - Version [Latest on all] **Additional context**
kerem 2026-02-25 20:36:25 +03:00
  • closed this issue
  • added the
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@anoo2niem commented on GitHub (Jan 24, 2025):

Might be relevant: https://github.com/benbusby/whoogle-search/issues/1211#issuecomment-2598572499

<!-- gh-comment-id:2612385644 --> @anoo2niem commented on GitHub (Jan 24, 2025): Might be relevant: https://github.com/benbusby/whoogle-search/issues/1211#issuecomment-2598572499
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@aibosss commented on GitHub (Jan 24, 2025):

User Agent change doesnt seem to fix the images part anymore

<!-- gh-comment-id:2612520547 --> @aibosss commented on GitHub (Jan 24, 2025): User Agent change doesnt seem to fix the images part anymore
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@anoo2niem commented on GitHub (Jan 24, 2025):

Image

Not sure what user agent i had configured, as i don't have acces to my server at the moment, but i'm assuming it is the same one as i mentioned in that comment, not 100% sure.

I'll edit this post shortly with what user agent is used once i check it.

Edit: User agent used was same as i mentioned in that comment Mozilla/3.0 (compatible; MSIE 3.0; Windows NT 5.0). I've defined both whoogle_user_agent and whoogle_user_agent_mobile with that ua. Not sure why it doesn't work on your end anymore.

<!-- gh-comment-id:2612553186 --> @anoo2niem commented on GitHub (Jan 24, 2025): ![Image](https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/e88d0a11-d279-4fea-b1a9-31802023d595) Not sure what user agent i had configured, as i don't have acces to my server at the moment, but i'm assuming it is the same one as i mentioned in that comment, not 100% sure. I'll edit this post shortly with what user agent is used once i check it. Edit: User agent used was same as i mentioned in that comment `Mozilla/3.0 (compatible; MSIE 3.0; Windows NT 5.0)`. I've defined both whoogle_user_agent and whoogle_user_agent_mobile with that ua. Not sure why it doesn't work on your end anymore.
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@anoo2niem commented on GitHub (Jan 24, 2025):

Interesting, just tested it on desktop and it indeed doesn't fetch images. Tested it again with mobile and mobile still fetches images.

<!-- gh-comment-id:2612603565 --> @anoo2niem commented on GitHub (Jan 24, 2025): Interesting, just tested it on desktop and it indeed doesn't fetch images. Tested it again with mobile and mobile still fetches images.
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Owner

@aibosss commented on GitHub (Jan 25, 2025):

Am I the only one with no more images ?

<!-- gh-comment-id:2613992271 --> @aibosss commented on GitHub (Jan 25, 2025): Am I the only one with no more images ?
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@Br0kenSilos commented on GitHub (Jan 25, 2025):

I have the same issue still.

Image

<!-- gh-comment-id:2614000534 --> @Br0kenSilos commented on GitHub (Jan 25, 2025): I have the same issue still. ![Image](https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/38ae802d-115e-4b59-a1d1-4d12acba7a61)
Author
Owner

@aibosss commented on GitHub (Jan 28, 2025):

Nobody else ? Anyway.. in the meantime, that got me to (re)try DuckDuckGo... its much better than it was, and we can remove ads from it too

<!-- gh-comment-id:2620157450 --> @aibosss commented on GitHub (Jan 28, 2025): Nobody else ? Anyway.. in the meantime, that got me to (re)try DuckDuckGo... its much better than it was, and we can remove ads from it too
Author
Owner

@benbusby commented on GitHub (Jan 29, 2025):

Looks like it had to do with the "Full Size Image Results" configuration, enabled either by the client or the server. Whenever that setting was enabled, the image results page would be empty due to the new user agent stuff. It's been disabled for now in 1339c49dc5, not sure if it's worth fixing that one setting though since it doesn't seem like many people used it.

<!-- gh-comment-id:2622446914 --> @benbusby commented on GitHub (Jan 29, 2025): Looks like it had to do with the "Full Size Image Results" configuration, enabled either by the client or the server. Whenever that setting was enabled, the image results page would be empty due to the new user agent stuff. It's been disabled for now in 1339c49dc5301ea7fb05b47b7adbeb82f851c038, not sure if it's worth fixing that one setting though since it doesn't seem like many people used it.
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starred/whoogle-search#730
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