New Delhi: Google Photos is reintroducing its face shortcuts in search, which enables users to find photos of a specific person or pet without prompting. The feature had reportedly disappeared when Google introduced its AI-powered search tools called Ask Photos. After listening to the users’ feedback, Google has confirmed that face shortcuts are returning with the application updates. 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 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 searching. Google stated that the feature is rolling out on Android, iPhone, and iPad, although availability may vary depending on region, domain or account type. Google noted that tapping on the 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 enables users to apply labels to people or pets, making photo management easier. 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 pictures by disabling Face Groups. This is stated to delete face groups in their account, the face models used to create those groups, and any face labels they have made.
