Control Face Grouping & Personalized Search in Google Photos

This guide shows you how to manage face grouping and personalized search in Google Photos, so you can control who appears in your photo search results and how your library is organized. You’ll learn how to enable or disable face grouping, edit face names, merge or remove groups, and adjust related search settings. No special tools are needed—just the Google Photos app or website and your Google account.

What You’ll Need

• A Google account with Google Photos set up.
• Access to Google Photos on the web (photos.google.com) or the mobile app (Android/iOS).
• Your photos backed up to Google Photos (face grouping only works on backed-up items).

Step-by-Step

Enable or Disable Face Grouping

1. Open Google Photos on your device or web browser.
2. Click or tap your profile icon (top right on web, top right on mobile) and select Photos settings.
3. Tap or click Group similar faces.
4. Toggle the switch to turn face grouping on or off. When you turn it off, Google Photos will no longer create or update face groups, but existing groups remain hidden until you turn it back on.

View and Manage Face Groups

1. In Google Photos, tap the Search tab (bottom on mobile, left sidebar on web).
2. You’ll see a section titled People—these are your face groups.
3. Tap a person’s thumbnail to see all photos of that person.
4. To rename, tap the person’s name at the top, then select Edit name. Type a new name and tap Done.
5. To hide a person from your People list, tap the three-dot menu (⋮) next to their name and select Hide or Remove.

Merge or Separate Face Groups

1. Open a person’s group by tapping their thumbnail in the People section.
2. Tap the three-dot menu (⋮) and choose Merge with another face.
3. Select another face group to merge them into one. Confirm the merge.
4. To separate a misidentified photo, open the photo, tap the person icon (or the face tag), and choose Remove from group.

Personalized Search and Suggestions

1. In Google Photos settings, look for Personalized search or Suggestions (the exact name may vary).
2. Toggle this on to allow Google to show more relevant search results based on your activity and face groups.
3. To clear your search history, go to Settings > Privacy and choose Clear search history.
4. You can also block specific people from appearing in search by hiding their face group as described above.

Common Mistakes

• Turning off face grouping but expecting existing groups to disappear: They are hidden, not deleted. You must manually delete or hide each group if you want them gone.
• Merging wrong faces: Double-check the thumbnails before confirming a merge—it’s hard to undo.
• Editing the name of a group but not the individual photos: The name applies to the group, not to individual photo tags. You may need to add names to specific photos separately.
• Forgetting that face grouping only works on backed-up photos: Photos stored only on your device won’t be analyzed.

Tips

• Use the People section to find all photos of a person quickly—searching by name may not catch every photo if the face isn’t grouped.
• If you have many photos of the same person, create a group and name it to make searching easier.
• Review your face groups occasionally to keep them accurate, especially after adding many new photos.
• When you hide a person, they also stop appearing in shared albums or memories, so use this to control who shows up.

Troubleshooting

• Face grouping option is missing: Make sure you’re signed in to the correct Google account and that your photos are backed up. The option may be unavailable in some regions or for certain account types (e.g., work/school accounts).
• Face groups are not being created: This can happen if you have fewer than a few photos of the same person, or if the photos are low-quality. Give it time—Google processes gradually.
• Wrong faces are grouped together: Open the group, select the incorrect photos, and remove them. Then merge the correct ones if needed.
• Changes not syncing across devices: Wait a few minutes and refresh the app or web page. If it persists, sign out and back in.
• Search results still show a person you hid: Hidden faces may still appear in search results if you have personalized search enabled. Try clearing your search history or turning off personalized search.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I delete a face group entirely?

No, you can only hide it. The group will not be deleted, but it won’t appear in your People list until you unhide it.

Will turning off face grouping affect my existing groups?

No, existing groups remain intact but are hidden from view. They will reappear if you turn the setting back on.

How do I unhide a person?

Go to Settings > Group similar faces > Manage hidden faces, then select the person and choose to unhide them.

Can I use face grouping for pets?

Yes, Google Photos can group animal faces too. They appear in the People section under a separate category.

Does face grouping work on videos?

No, only photos are analyzed for face grouping. Videos are not included in face groups.

Is face grouping available for all Google accounts?

Most personal Google accounts have it, but some education or business accounts may not. Check your settings to see if the option appears.

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