How does Facebook's face recognition work?
Our technology analyzes the pixels in photos and videos, such as your profile picture and photos and videos that you’ve been tagged in, to calculate a unique number, which we call a template. We compare other photos and videos on Facebook to this template and if we find a match we’ll recognize you. If you are untagged from a photo, or video, information from those untagged photos and videos is no longer used in the template. If your face recognition setting is set to off, we delete the template.
This technology is currently only available in certain locations, and will only appear in your profile if you are at least 18 years old.
How does Facebook use face recognition?
Here are some examples of how Facebook may use face recognition:
- Suggest that others tag you. Learn more about tag suggestions.
- Let you know when you might appear in photos or videos but haven't been tagged.
- Identify people in photos they're not tagged in for people who use a screen reader. Learn more about Automatic Alt Text.
- Detect when an account may be pretending to be you.
Note: We don't have any face recognition features that tell strangers who you are.
When will I get photos to review?
In some cases, you may not see photos to review. For example:
- If your face recognition setting is off. Learn how to turn face recognition on or off.
- If face recognition is unable to determine that you might be in a photo. For example, if a photo is too blurry, or if only a portion of your face is visible.
- If you have no new photos to review.
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