By default, the new Google Pixel 6 and Google Pixel 6 Pro use gestures for system navigation.
In order to go back, you need to swipe left from either the left edge or right edge of the screen. To go to the home screen, you need to swipe up from the bottom of the screen. Finally, to switch between currently opened apps, you need to swipe up from the bottom of the screen and then hold until you see the app overview.
If you would rather use on-screen buttons to go back, go home and find all the open all apps, then you can check out this step-by-step tutorial at Seeking Tech.
1. The first step is to get to the Settings app.
You can get to this app from swiping down two times from the top of the screen. You then need to tap the gear icon.
Alternatively, you can swipe up from an empty space on the Home menu to bring up a list of currently installed applications on your Pixel 6 or Pixel 6 Pro. You can then tap the Settings app.
2. Once you get to Settings, navigate down the list and then select the System option.
3. After getting to the System menu, tap the Gestures option.
4. Inside the Gestures menu, tap the System navigation option from the list.
5. In the System navigation, tap the 3-button navigation option.
This setting will replace the swipe actions with three buttons on the bottom of the screen.
The backwards play button is used to go back to a previous screen.
The circle button is used to go back to the Home menu.
The square button will show an overview of currently opened apps. Here, you can switch to another opened app or close any apps that are currently opened.
If you have concern about these buttons potentially causing the OLED screen of your Google Pixel 6 or Google Pixel 6 Pro to burn-in, then you can check out this guide to see how you can prevent these issues from occurring.
How to disable the go back, home and switch app buttons on Pixel 6/Pixel 6 Pro
If you want to disable the go back, home and switch app buttons, then you need to take the following steps:
1. Open the Settings app.
2. Go to System.
3. Go to Gestures.
4. Go to System navigation.
5. Select Gesture navigation.
The backward play, circle and square buttons will be removed from the bottom of the screen. You now have to use swipes to navigate your phone.