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How to Add a Face to Google Photos

How to Add a Face to Google Photos

 Google Photos face recognition is not a new thing. It has been around for years in some countries, primarily in the United States. In late 2019, Google Photos added a new feature that allows you to manually add faces to the app, i.e., tag people in your photos.

Adding faces can help you sort your photos, so you can easily find them. There is also face grouping on Google Photos, which allows you to group those who look alike, like your family members, for example. Read along to learn all about adding a face to Google Photos, and much more.

How to Enable Face Grouping in Google Photos

Before we get into adding faces, you need to enable the face grouping feature in Google Photos on your phone. If you haven’t enabled it before, you won’t be able to add new faces. The process of enabling the face groups feature in Google Photos is pretty straightforward.

Here’s what you need to do:

  1. Launch the Google Photos app on your phone and tap on your profile icon in the top right corner. 
    Google Photos profile icon
  2. Tap Photos settings from the menu. 
    Google Photos Photos settings
  3. Select Preferences
    Google Photos Preferences
  4. Tap the Group similar faces option. 
    Google Photos Group similar faces
  5. Enable the Face groups toggle. 
    Google Photos Face groups option

Now you should be able to find and tag people manually in the Google Photos app. Let’s see how you can do that. 

How to Add a Face in Google Photos on Mobile

Tagging faces in Google Photos is a great way to index your memories and easily sort them, so you can find them effortlessly. Here’s how you can add faces manually on a mobile device:

  1. Open the Google Photos app on your phone or tablet.
  2. Choose a photo with a person you want to add.
  3. Select More at the top of the screen (three-dot icon).
    Google Photos More option
  4. Next, select People, and then the Edit option (looks like a pencil).
    Google Photos People option
  5. Choose a person you want to tag below the Available to add menu.
  6. Select the Add icon at the top right.
    Google Photos Add Face button
  7. Tap on Create.
    Google Photos Create New Face
  8. Finally, select Done to save changes.
    Google Photos Save New Face

You can always remove faces from Google Photos by pressing or tapping the Remove option instead of Add because, sometimes, Google will place incorrect tags.

Note that you need Face Grouping enabled in Google Photos settings. Since it’s a relatively new option, perhaps you haven’t switched it on yet, or you accidentally disabled it.

How Google Photos Face Tagging Works on a Computer

Some people prefer using Google Photos on their PCs. It offers the same functionality as the mobile app. Just remember that you need face grouping enabled in Google Photos settings.

Tagging faces in Google Photos from your computer is easy.

  1. Launch Google Photos in your browser.
  2. Select the Explore tab, and it will show you all the people and places saved on your phone. 
    Google Photos Explore tab
  3. Click on the View all option next to the People section. 
    Google Photos View All button
  4. Select the face you want to search for, and it will show you all the photos of that person.

You can then use the name tag to search for people or pets.

How to Search Images by Faces in Google Photos

Once you’ve successfully added faces to Google Photos, you can easily search for all their photos in your library. 

  1. Open the Google Photos app on your phone and go to the Search tab. 
  2. Tap on the View all button next to the People section. 
  3. Select the face you want to search for. 
    Google Photos app View all

After this, Google Photos will show you all the photos of that person. You can then easily save those images from Google Photos to your phone’s gallery

    Why Isn’t Google Photos Finding Faces?

    Google Photos is a marvelous app, but it is not perfect. You need to turn face recognition on in Google Photos for it to work. Sometimes auto-tagging doesn’t work as intended, which is why manually adding faces is so useful. Take some time to add tags where automated tagging failed, and you’ll have a much easier time later on.

    You can use these tags to find photos of friends, family, or pets in an instant. Some users remarked that you need to back up all your Google Photos to Google Drive for tagging to work. Backup should be automatic unless you disable this option. Backup and Sync are available in the Settings menu, make sure that it’s enabled there.

    Put a Name to the Face

    Now you can add faces to Google Photos, and sort them into groups. It will make your use of the app much easier, especially if you like taking many photos. You can sort people and pets, and create albums in Google Photos.

    Your options are nearly limitless, so get to tagging. How do you like this feature so far? Are there any improvements you would suggest to Google? Tell us that, and more, in the comments section below.

    Found this post helpful? Consider checking out our guide about how to recover deleted photos and videos from Google Photos next. 

    FAQs

    1. What is face grouping in Google Photos?

    A. Face grouping is a useful feature of Google Photos that groups various faces it finds in your images using face recognition technology. It helps you sort your photos, so you can easily find them.

    2. How do you get Google Photos to recognize a face?

    A. To get Google Photos to recognize a face, you need to enable the face groups feature on your phone. Here’s what you need to do:

    1. Launch the Google Photos app and tap on your profile icon. 
    2. Tap Photos settings from the menu. 
    3. Select Preferences
    4. Tap the Group similar faces option. 
    5. Enable the Face groups toggle. 

    3. How do I add faces to the Google Photos app?

    A. To add faces to the Google Photos app, follow these steps: 

    1. Open the Google Photos app and choose a photo with a person you want to add.
    2. Tap More and select People.
    3. Press the Edit option and choose a person you want to tag below the Available to Add menu.
    4. Select the Add icon and tap Create.
    5. Hit Done to save changes.

    4. Why can’t I add faces on Google Photos?

    A. If you can’t add faces on Google Photos, it might be because the face groups feature isn’t enabled on your phone. Enabling it should fix this issue.

    5. How to search pictures by faces in the Google Photos app?

    A. To search images using a face in the Google Photos app, follow these steps:

    1. In the Google Photos app, go to the Search tab. 
    2. Tap on the View all button next to the People section. 
    3. Select the face you want to search for.

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    5 thoughts on “How to Add a Face to Google Photos”

    James O'Connor says:
    Is there anyway I can sort the list of labels for people groups to Make it easier to find a person in the explore list of People & pets
    Adam S. says:
    This article is out of date. You can no longer user the methods described above to add faces to Google Photos. In fact, I don’t think the ability exists at all right now.
    George Fawn says:
    I just did it today in 2023.
    Christian says:
    I can’t see the option either. What model is your phone and which Android version do you have?
    Strider says:
    Is there a way to identify a face that Google is not recognizing as such? I’ve noticed that the faces of my Black friends in particular are not even getting the ‘face available’ option. This is really frustrating since all of my white/light-skinned friends and even their black cats are!
    Hallvard Paulsen says:
    How do you “select people”?
    Noel O'Kelly says:
    Having Created a New Face, it is not clear how you assign a name to them.

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    Ronil Thakkar

    Aug 26, 2023

    Ronil is a Computer Engineer graduate who has a knack for writing about consumer technology. He has been covering news and guides about consumer electronics for around three years. His work has appeared on esteemed publications such as MakeUseOf, 91Mobiles, FossBytes, and Greenbot.

    82 Articles Published

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