Transparent circle on phone, what is it?

[Swifty Kay]

Transparent circle on phone

Has anyone else noticed a transparent circle that moves around on their mobile phone screen? The past 2 months I've noticed this circle, about the size of a dime, on photos and screen captures. Once, when I seen it actually moving across the screen, it darted away when I tried to touch it. Can someone tell me what this is, please?

 

[Javier P]

Re: Transparent circle on phone

Hello and welcome to the forums! Which phone do you have? Have you recently downloaded or updated any app? Could you post a screenshot with that circle?

 

[Swifty Kay]

Re: Transparent circle on phone

Thank you. Sorry it's taken me so long to reply but I had to research how to find your response. The phone is a Motorola E 2nd Gen and yes I have updated and downloaded apps recently. Here's 2 examples, one is a screen capture and the other is a photo.

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[Swifty Kay]

Here's the photo.

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[Swifty Kay]

Re: Transparent circle on phone

The circle is located top left on the first and mid right on the other.

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[Javier P]

Re: Transparent circle on phone

Here's the photo. View attachment 208821

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Is that a photo of your phone while the screen is off?

 

[Swifty Kay]

Re: Transparent circle on phone

When the screen is off it only displays the time.

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[Swifty Kay]

Re: Transparent circle on phone

The photo was taken with the camera that's on the phone, the pic of the quarter and nail. I was asking a friend what kind of nail it was, what it's used for, hence the quarter.

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[Swifty Kay]

I just took this screen shot. Now I see 2, one behind the Messaging icon and one behind the red icon above it.

 

[Swifty Kay]

Re: Transparent circle on phone

Sorry I inserted the wrong pic. This should be it.

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[Javier P]

Re: Transparent circle on phone

Ok, I think I know what's going on. Those icons are folders. If you tap on any of them you'll see the different apps included. With the Messaging app I think that, by accident, you created a new folder with the settings icon. To create a folder you tap & hold on a shortcut and drag it on top of another one. To take a shortcut out of a folder try this. Open it with a single tap, tap & hold on one icon (settings for example) and drag it out.

 

[belodion]

Re: Transparent circle on phone

At first I thought you were referring to the disc in the search bar. I sometimes see that on my Nexus 5, since the Marshmallow update I think. I believe it's a harmless bug.

 

[Swifty Kay]

Re: Transparent circle on phone

You are correct. Since I ungrouped the app icons those circle are no longer there. Does that mean these circles are bugs and I need to check for viruses? If so please send recommendations.View attachment 208988View attachment 208989

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[Swifty Kay]

Re: Transparent circle on phone

Can you please tell me how I can find these bugs and eliminate them? I'm seeing these circles on my tablet now and having issues with data connectivity on my phone. I'm worried these issues may be caused by these circles. When I scan with gadget guardian it locks up at about 20% on the deep scan.

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[Javier P]

There's nothing to worry about. The circles behind some icons mean that they are folders. I did a quick search about that shadow in the Google bar and, as Belodion said, it's a harmless bug. It happens after you swipe from the bar and the ripple animation doesn't fade out. If you touch again inside the bar (single tap) it should disappear.

 

[Javier P]

Re: Transparent circle on phone

Look, I managed to replicate that shadow. As I said, nothing to worry about

 

[the tall guy]

Re: Transparent circle on phone

For what it's worth I too have the mysterious orb that stays in my Google Search bar on occasions. Just a small bug that doesn't cause any harm. Should be resolved in further software updates.

 

[Swifty Kay]

Re: Transparent circle on phone

Okay. Thank you.

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