The feature has been disabled ‘temporarily’
Google loves introducing Pixel-exclusive camera features, like the Magic Eraser camouflage mode set to debut with the Pixel 6a, or the Real Tone support 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. When Frequent Faces is 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, a Product Expert reported that Google disabled the feature “temporarily,” but leaves us without any real explanation into why (via 9to5Google). Meanwhile, Redditors highlighted that 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 new Pixel 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.
