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. 
   
2. Tap Photos settings from the menu. 
   
3. Select Preferences. 
   
4. Tap the Group similar faces option. 
   
5. Enable the Face groups toggle. 
   

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).
   
4. Next, select People, and then the Edit option (looks like a pencil).
   
5. Choose a person you want to tag below the Available to add menu.
6. Select the Add icon at the top right.
   
7. Tap on Create.
   
8. Finally, select Done to save changes.
   

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. 
   
3. Click on the View all option next to the People section. 
   
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. 
   

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. 

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