14 DAY TRIAL // Teardowns of various applications usually reveal details and hints about upcoming features, shedding light on what developers are currently working on. Android Police has recently conducted a teardown and found clues that Google is working on more facial recognition features for its Photos app.
Google is preparing more facial recognition features to introduce to its Photos app in order to encourage users to share pictures with people detected in images. Basically, the Photos application will offer users tools to “personalize” their experience and select a picture of themselves from the list of faces that were previously identified.
The teardown reveals that Google intends to help users “get personalized search, creations” and arrange pictures of themselves. By creations, Google is most likely referring to auto-generated albums, collages and animations based on images.
Users can opt out of new facial recognition features
Moreover, the app will come with a tool that allows users to share images featuring friends or family. Users will be able to give their permission and have Photos recognize them when pictures with other people’s phones are taken. This applies only to people in the contact list and users will have the option to opt in or out of the new facial recognition features.
Google will also introduce new settings for managing facial recognition tools, including grouping features and a feature to change the default image that users previously selected.
Obviously, the main issue with this tool is related to privacy, many users won’t be comfortable with their face popping up on other people’s phones, even if they’re people they know. Still, Google will provide users with the option to opt out of the new facial recognition tools, as the teardown reveals.
Since hints of these new features were spotted in a teardown, it’s unclear when new facial recognition tools will arrive to the Photos app, but it is a solid indication that Google is looking to expand such features and bring new tools to users.