Search for Faces in Google Images; Plus Handy Greasemonkey Script

Google slipped in an unofficial feature to Google Images last week that lets you search for images that contain only faces.

Let's say you want to search for pictures of Paris Hilton, but you're lazy so you only want to type "paris" into the search box.



Normally, you'll get back images of the Eiffel Tower, Moulin Rouge, and a map of Paris along with pictures of Paris Hilton. The URL of the search results page is http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=paris.

But if you append "&imgtype=face" to the URL, the results page will only contain faces. This time, Paris Hilton pics dominate.



Remember, though, you're a lazy surfer so you don't want to have to append anything to use the face search feature.

Enter the Google Image Type Recognition Greasemonkey script. All that this perversely named script does is add a drop-down box letting you select the type of search results you want: normal, just faces, or only from news stories. If you don't have Greasemonkey installed, this Greasemonkey installation guide will walk you through the steps.