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Windows

Face Search for Windows 10 and 11

SnapByFace is a native Windows app that finds a person across your local photo and video folders. One reference photo in, every match out — processed entirely on your PC.

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Windows specifics

What you need

SnapByFace runs on Windows 10 and Windows 11, 64-bit. The installer is about 300 MB because the face models are bundled inside — after installing, the app never downloads anything at runtime and search works with the network unplugged.

Everything SnapByFace learns about your media is kept in %USERPROFILE%\.snapbyface on your own disk: the index, the face embeddings, your settings. Uninstalling the app leaves that folder in place; deleting it removes all indexed data and activation state.

Workflow

How it works on Windows

1

Install

Download the Windows installer (.exe) and run it. SnapByFace is made by a solo developer and is not code-signed with a verified publisher certificate yet, so SmartScreen will flag it — choose "More info" and "Run anyway". Verify the SHA-256 checksum before installing if you want to confirm the file is genuine.

2

Add people and folders

Add one reference photo per person, then select the folders with your photos and videos — external drives and network shares included.

3

Search and export

Pick a person and get matches ranked by similarity. Export copies the hits to any folder with original timestamps intact — originals stay untouched.

On your PC

What runs where

64-bit, Windows 10 and 11

One installer for both. No runtime downloads, no cloud account, no background services beyond the app itself.

Local processing

Face detection, embeddings and matching run on your CPU, on your machine. The only outbound request is an optional statistics ping you can switch off.

15+ media formats

Photos: JPG, JPEG, PNG, BMP, TIFF, WebP, HEIC/HEIF. Video: MP4, MOV, AVI, MKV, M4V, WebM, TS.

Pausable long scans

Indexing a big library can run for a while on older hardware. Pause, close, resume — progress persists across sessions.

Windows face search: frequently asked questions

Which Windows versions does SnapByFace support?
Windows 10 and Windows 11, 64-bit. The same license covers one Windows computer at a time — licenses are tied to the machine code of the machine you activate on.
Why does SmartScreen warn about the installer?
SnapByFace is built by a solo developer. Apple's notarization and Microsoft's publisher verification both require expensive developer certificates that I have not obtained yet, so SmartScreen flags the installer as unfamiliar. Choose "More info", then "Run anyway". Verify the SHA-256 checksum published with each release before installing.
Does it need an internet connection?
Face detection, embeddings and search all run on your own CPU — no cloud, no account. The only outbound request is an optional device statistics ping that is on by default but can be switched off in Settings. Everything else works with the network unplugged.
Can I move my license to a new PC?
Yes. A license is tied to one machine; if you replace your PC, request a re-issued code for the new machine code from the activation page.

Run face search on your PC

Download the Windows installer and try a full local search on your own folders. The free trial needs no account.

Download for Windows View pricing