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Apparently, the Photos app found on Windows 10 can group photos based on people in it i.e. it has facial recognition features. I'm wondering if this facial recognition is done on the device locally, or are the photos sent to microsoft servers? Is there any kind of documentation to clarify about this?

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Is this facial recognition is done on the device locally?

Yes.

The Photos app uses face detection and recognition capabilities to help users organize their photo collection. You can group recognized photos by tags and folders. The data the app collects during this process is not uploaded online. The database is stored on your local computer.

Source Disable Face Detection and Recognition in Photos in Windows 10


Are the photos sent to microsoft servers?

Yes (if you have enabled Help make the Photos app better)

When you agree to help make the Photos app better, we’ll collect data from your photos and videos to help us find and fix problems with the app and make improvements to other Microsoft products and services. To get this data, we may collect and process the photo and video content on this device that appears in the Photos app.

How it works

We combine data from multiple customers and apply machine learning to it, which allows us to provide you with improved features and experiences through our Photos app and other Microsoft products and services. Here are a few examples:

  • To improve the auto-tagging and face recognition models, we may collect items that you update by removing tags when searching for people or things in the app.
  • To improve the automated movie feature, we may collect a video and the trim points that you’ve trimmed.
  • To improve our single-click image enhancement, we may collect an image you’ve edited.

Source The Photos app and your privacy

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  • I don't think this answers the question. It would definitely mean that Photos can upload photos to MS under certain circumstances, but it doesn't tell us if facial recognition works without communicating with external services.
    – gronostaj
    Nov 27, 2019 at 14:24
  • @gronostaj Updated answer
    – DavidPostill
    Nov 27, 2019 at 14:39
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    Hi DavidPostill, thanks for answering the question! Really appreciate it. PS I can't find the "Help make the Photos app better" setting in the Photos app settings. Where can I find it?
    – Nefario
    Nov 28, 2019 at 0:46
  • @Nefario I'd guess in the feedback section of settings - it's asks it as part of the install so it would make sense for it to be there
    – Legorooj
    Nov 29, 2019 at 11:07

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