 "Google brings face shortcuts back to search in Photos app: How it works")
Google Photos is reintroducing “face shortcuts” in search, which allows users to find photos of a specific person or pet without prompting. The feature had reportedly disappeared when Google introduced its AI-powered search tool called “Ask Photos.” After listening to user feedback, Google has confirmed that face shortcuts are returning with app updates.
What are face shortcuts in Google Photos?
Earlier, users could see small face previews of frequently appearing people or pets directly on the search page. These shortcuts allowed users to open photo collections instantly without typing names or keywords. When Ask Photos was introduced, these shortcuts were removed.
Face shortcuts and Ask Photos: How it works
According to Google’s support page, face shortcuts are now available again in both classic search and Ask Photos. In classic search, the shortcuts appear immediately. In Ask Photos, they show up after tapping the text field to start a search. Google said that the feature is rolling out on Android, iPhone, and iPad, although availability may vary depending on region, domain or account type.
Google said that tapping on a face opens a page with all photos of that person or pet. To view more people or pets, users can tap the three-dot option. Face shortcuts are only visible when the Face Groups feature is turned on. Google also allows users to apply labels to people or pets, making photo management easier. However, the feature is not available in all regions, domains or account types.
Google in its support page mentioned that users can stop grouping photos based on faces that appear in their photos by disabling Face Groups. This is said to delete face groups in their account, the face models used to create those groups, and any face labels they have created.
To turn Face Groups on or off
- Open the Google Photos app.
- Sign in to your Google Account.
- At the top right, tap your account profile photo or initials.
- Tap Photos settings, then Privacy.
- Turn Face Groups on or off.
- To turn off Face Groups only for photos of pets, turn off Show pets with people.