Mystery behind the discovery of giant ‘search’, ‘unlock’, and ‘download’ buttons across India solved

Glance posts a video unravelling the suspense; states that users don’t need these buttons if they have a Glance smart lock screen.

As the mystery surrounding the surfacing of giant buttons labelled as ‘unlock, ‘download’ and ‘search’ in garbage bins across the country deepens, a video posted on social media channels by smart lock screen platform Glance, has finally lifted the lid on the suspense. In this video posted across social media channels on Wednesday, Glance has shown photographs and videos of people dumping these giant symbolic buttons for its smart lock screen, which doesn’t require users to unlock their phones, download and search to access different content on the internet.

“Get everything you love from the latest trends to sports updates, from 500+ games to shopping for fashion on your Glance smart lock screen. No need to ‘unlock’, ‘search’ or ‘download’. #JustGlance. Isn't that Simply Smart?”, the Bengaluru-based unicorn start-up company said in a Twitter post along with the video.

Last week, giant buttons labelled 'search,' 'unlock,' and 'download' were discovered abandoned in various trash bins throughout Bangalore. Surprisingly, these buttons were not limited to Bangalore alone but later appeared in multiple cities across the country, including Delhi, Indore, Chennai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Lucknow and Jaipur. This unexpected find ignited widespread curiosity nationwide, prompting people to express their thoughts and engage in discussions on social media. Thousands of people took to Twitter and posted these photos along with discussions on topics such as digital detoxification and pioneering digital advancements with hashtags #mysterybuttons and #buttonsdiscovered.

Glance is a Bengaluru-based unicorn (start-up with a valuation of more than USD$1 billion) technology company known for its smart lock screen platform which is available in most of the leading Android smartphone brands in the country. The Glance lock screen has an installed user base of over 450 million across India and Southeast Asia. The company also aims to enter multiple other geographies including the USA.

The human spirit is indomitable, always thirsting to do more. Our smartphones were meant to be our companion on this epic quest for more - to help us keep up, get things done and spark new ideas. But in this fast-paced world, there is a firehose of information that keeps coming at us. Searching for info, downloading apps, switching between apps, and scrolling through feeds is leaving us drained. With Glance Smart Lock Screen less is more. Everything we seek comes to us on our lock screen, instead of us seeking it. We don’t need to spend any time searching for info, downloading multiple or even unlocking our smartphone. All we need is to just glance. #SimplySmart said Bikash Chowdhury, Chief Marketing Officer of Glance, on a LinkedIn post

Glance is not a downloadable app, but a feature that comes pre-integrated in the operating system (OS) of leading smartphone brands. It serves as a single gateway to a world of tailored content based on users’ interests and preferences in several regional languages including English, Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Marathi, Kannada, and Bengali. Glance can be activated only with the user’s consent.

Users can stay updated and discover trending content, play over 400 games, livestream exciting game tournaments, shop for products, tune in to over 500 creators' live shows, and more, all without unlocking their phones. It's like having a personalized content feed at the user’s fingertips, ready to entertain and inform whenever one needs it.