Google has updated its Photos app. The app features a revamped facial recognition, which now also allows users to search for photos of pets based on their name.
Google Photos for Pets
It is now possible to recognize not only people in photos (at least in the United States), but also animals. That has been working since the most recent update of the Photos app from Google, the company announced in a blog post.
Previously, photos you took of pets could only be found by searching for ‘dog’ or ‘cat’, for example. But from now on animals can be found much more specifically. The app bundles the photos of pets in one place. Then you can label different pets yourself to find them again. This way you organize photo albums and find your pet faster.
Also read: Google Photos is the smart alternative to Apple’s Photos app
New way of searching
From now on, searching for different animals is also based on the breed of the dog or cat. For example, you can search for ‘labrador’, ‘pug’ or ‘saint bernard’ to find photos that match that description. It is also possible to use emoji to find pictures of animals.
Incidentally, the results are not always that good. Animals that look alike are not always well separated. Recognizing different animals is done through machine learning. This technique is trained to recognize individual animals, but animals of the same breed with a similar appearance can be seen as one.
Video of your pet
Via the assistant in the app it is also possible to make videos of the pictures. Google puts a matching music underneath, for example with a lot of meowing. You can also put together the videos yourself.
→ Download Google Photos from the App Store (free)