Old family photos often contain relatives you recognize, relatives you don’t, or people you’ve only heard about through family stories. Face Match helps identify possible ancestors in photos by comparing faces in your images with photos from historical record collections and public member trees on Ancestry.

When a possible face match is found, you can review the suggestion and explore related photos, records, and trees to decide whether it fits your research. You can then tag people in the photo to help organize and preserve your family photos with names, relationships, and other research details.

How Face Match works

Face Match uses AI technology to compare faces in your photos with photos of deceased people available on Ancestry.

Not all photos will return face matches. Face Match works best with photos where faces are clearly visible.

Possible face matches may come from:

• Public member trees
• Historical photo collections
• Some yearbook collections
  
  

When face matches are found, they’re grouped by quality, such as:

• Great
• Good
• Fair

Face Match ratings reflect how closely the selected face may match other photos available on Ancestry.

Each result may show:

• Names
• Dates
• Locations
• Public member trees where the person appears
  
  

Face match suggests possible matches, but you decide whether they fit your research before tagging people in your photos. 

Who can use Face Match

Face Match is available with an active Ancestry family history membership.

To use Face Match, the photo must:

• belong to a tree you own or can edit
• be of a deceased person
  
  

Using Face Match

1. Open a photo in a tree you own or can edit.
   • In a browser:
     1. Open the tree that contains the photo.
     2. In the navigation bar, select Memories, then Gallery.
     3. Select a photo to open it.
   • In the app:
     1. Open the tree that contains the photo. If needed, switch trees.
     2. In the bottom menu, tap Memories.
     3. Select a photo to open it.
2. Select a face in the photo and adjust the selection box if needed.
3. Select Face match.
4. Review the face match results and decide whether they fit your research.  
   • If face matches are found:
     1. Explore related photos, tree details, and records to help decide whether the Face Match fits your research.
     2. If a Face Match appears correct, select Add tag.
        • You can only tag people who are already in your tree. If the person is not already in your tree, add them first, then return to the photo to tag them.
        • To remove or change a tag, see Linking and Tagging People in Media.
   • If no face matches are found, try:
     • Selecting another face
     • Using another photo
     • Tying again later
       
       

If multiple people appear in the photo, repeat the process for each face.

Face matches may also appear when uploading photos to your tree. You may see suggested faces, existing tags, and options to tag people in photos during the upload process.

If no faces are detected, you can still manually tag people in photos.

Frequently asked questions

Can Face Match help identify living people?
No. To protect the privacy of living people, Face Match is only designed to help identify deceased people.

Does Face Match automatically scan or tag all photos?
No. Face Match only runs when you choose to use it. You review the suggestions and decide whether a Face Match fits your research before tagging people in your photos.

Where do Face Match results come from?
Face Match results may come from public member trees and historical collections on Ancestry, including some yearbook collections. Face Match only compares photos of deceased people.

Are Face Match suggestions always accurate?
No. Face Match suggestions are generated automatically and may contain mistakes. Suggestions are based on available photos, records, and tree information and may change as more content is added to Ancestry.

Always review photos, records, and related trees before adding information to your tree.

What happens if no face matches are found?
If no face matches are found, try selecting another face, using a different photo, or trying again later. 

As more photos and collections are added to Ancestry, new face matches may become available.

Why don’t I see Face Match?
Face Match may not appear if your account, tree, or photo doesn’t meet the requirements.

Face Match requires an active Ancestry family history membership and a photo in a tree you own or can edit. Face Match can only be used to identify deceased people.

If Face Match still doesn’t appear, try selecting a different face or using another photo.