Google Pixel cameras haven’t been able to detect Frequent Faces for months now
Google loves introducingPixel-exclusive camera features, like theMagic Eraser camouflage modeset to debut with the Pixel 6a, or theReal Tonesupport we got with the Pixel 6 last year. What we don’t expect, though, is for that list to suddenly get shorter — yet that’s just what’s happening with Frequent Faces, which disappeared without a trace from Pixel phones earlier this year.
The now-missing feature first debuted with the Pixel 4, with the goal of optimizing photo processing for the subjects you care most about. WhenFrequent Facesis enabled, your phone uses on-device processing to identify people in your shots, and uses those faces it recognizes most when making decisions about image focus or composition — basically, photos that make frequently snapped people look better will be prioritized. On the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro, Frequent Faces also helps capture skin tones more accurately with Real Tone.
All that sounds great, except for the fact that Frequent Faces seems to have disappeared for everyone a couple months back (and hardly anyone noticed). Responding to a support forum post from May, aProduct Expert reportedthat Google disabled the feature “temporarily,” but leaves us without any real explanation into why (via9to5Google). Meanwhile,Redditors highlightedthat Frequent Faces being broken also means that unofficial, modded versions of the Google Camera app crash every time it’s enabled.
Even if a fix is in the pipeline, we still don’t have a great sense for when it might arrive. Until then, Pixel users worldwide, including those placing orders for the newPixel 6a, will have to live without Frequent Faces. That’s probably of little consequence for most of the photos you take, but we’re still interested in getting to the bottom of this absence.
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