How to manually tag pictures in Google Photos

Google has started rolling out manual tagging feature to its Photos app. The feature allows users to tag faces in pictures where Google’s algorithm could not tag the face. Earlier, Google Photos would automatically recognize faces and group them, allowing you to manage your library easily. However, the algorithm sometimes misses faces and now, users will have the ability to manually tag people.

While this is a good feature, there’s a catch. Users will only be able to tag people if Google detects that there’s a face in the photo. This means that you can tag a photo when Google detects a face but doesn’t know who it is. If Google does not detect a face, due to a weird angle, you will not be able to tag it.

How to manually tag a face in Google Photos

• To begin, open Google Photos and select a picture with people or pets in it.
• Swipe up or tap the overflow button at the top right corner.
• If you have received the update, you will get a ‘People’ section with a ‘Pen’ icon at the right side.
• Click on the ‘Pen’ icon and you will see a screen with the photo on top, a section for tagged people and below that, faces that are ‘Available to add’.
• You can tap either on the images in the ‘Available to add’ section or tap on faces in the image itself.
• You will now be asked to either choose from an existing person or pet or add a new person or pet.

How to edit an already tagged face

In addition to adding new faces, the update also allows you to edit already tagged faces. Users can now un-tag and re-tag faces easily.

• Open Google Photos and select a picture with people or pets in it.
• Swipe up or tap the overflow button at the top right corner.
• Click on the ‘Pen’ icon beside the People section.
• To remove a tag, click on the remove icon on the thumbnail of the tag you wish to remove.
• You can now add a new tag to the face by clicking on the image.

See also:

Google Photos adds 'stories'-like private archive

You can add portrait mode to any photo with this new Google Photos update