Some Tapo cameras and Tapo Hub boast free and powerful Al that recognizes and tags strangers, family, and friends for easy identification, reducing overall notifications to the ones that matter.  Importantly, all facial data is processed locally without cloud uploads, ensuring your privacy and security.
Note: 

• Currently, the Tapo C560WS, C260, and Tapo H500 support the Local Facial Recognition feature. 
• Other cameras that support storing video recordings in the hub can work with Tapo H500 to get the ability of Local Facial Recognition.

 

Enabling the Facial Recognition Feature on the Tapo Camera

Here, we take the Tapo C560WS V1 as an example.

1. Go to the Tapo C560WS's Live View page in the Tapo app and tap Facial Recognition. 

 

Note: Facial Recognition operates completely locally, with no data uploaded to cloud servers.

 

2.  Tap Enable Facial Recognition, and you will see the Privacy Policy prompt when enabling this feature for the first time. Please check “I have fully read and understood the Privacy Policy” after you read the detailed contents, and then click on Confirm.

Note: If you have concerns about the Privacy Policy, contact privacy@tp-link.com. 

 

Enabling the Facial Recognition Feature on the Tapo Hub

Here, we take the Tapo H500 as an example

1. Tap Tapo H500 in the Tapo app, then go to AI Empowerment to enable this feature. Next, tap Add Devices to include the cameras you want to use the Facial Recognition feature.
Note:

• To enable AI Empowerment, please set the cameras to store their video recordings in the Tapo Hub H500.
• Up to 6 cameras can be added.

 

For more information on AI Empowerment, refer to the “FAQs about the AI Empowerment of Tapo Smart HomeBase”.

     
2. Click on Facial Recognition and tap Enable Facial Recognition to enable this feature.

   
3.  Go to Settings > Effective Devices to add devices for Facial Recognition. Only AI-empowered devices can enable Facial Recognition.

   
Features on the camera’s Facial Recognition page

 

1. Familiars

 

Adding Familiars

• Tap the Add icon under Familiars to add faces by taking a photo or selecting from your photos. You can also convert strangers into familiars.
• Limit: Up to 20 familiars can be added.

 

 

Deleting Familiars
Tap on the Familiars column, select the familiar you wish to delete, tap the three dots icon, and click Delete Familiar.

 

   

Editing Familiars
Tap Edit to modify the name or relationship of a familiar or to delete it. You can also change the photo of the familiar.

 

   

2. Strangers

Identifying Strangers

• Unfamiliar faces detected by your camera will be marked as strangers.
• Limit: Up to 30 strangers can be recorded, with automatic deletion after 90 days.
• The old Stranger will be replaced by the newly recorded Stranger when the number of strangers is up to 30.

 

 

Converting Strangers to Familiars

• In the Strangers column, tap the stranger’s avatar, and tap Add to Familiars.
• Create a name, select a relationship, and tap Create to add the stranger to Familiars.

 

 

Deleting Strangers
In the Strangers column, tap the stranger’s avatar and tap Delete to delete the stranger.

 

 

3. Facial Recognition Report

On the Facial Recognition Report page, you can find how many times, at what time, and in what locations the familiars and strangers appear. This offers insight into each person’s involvement and enhances surveillance of surrounding activities.
 

Tap the Bell icon at the top right corner to access the Report Notifications page. Enable notifications to receive regular reports weekly or monthly.

 

 

4. Settings

Facial Recognition Device 

Please select the Camera or the connected HomeBase for Facial Recognition. 
Note:  Only camera models that support saving video recordings to the Tapo Hub can utilize the hub's Facial Recognition function. (Tapo Smart Hub Compatible Camera List)
 

  
Camera vs. HomeBase 

Use Camera for Facial Recognition

• The camera model should support the Facial Recognition feature.
• The camera has its own face data and can’t share face data with other devices.
• The recorded videos can be saved to the camera’s microSD card or the connected hub.

 

Use HomeBase for Facial Recognition

• The HomeBase(Hub) has a unified management of the faces captured by the connected cameras. It supports up to 6 cameras enabling Facial Recognition simultaneously.
• The recorded videos are saved to the HomeBase.
• Supports facial tracking across cameras.
• Provides face data of multiple connected cameras.

 

Recognition Notifications

After enabling the Recognition Notifications, you can select to allow Familiar and Strangers Recognition Notifications.

• When Familiar Recognition Notifications is enabled, you can select familiars you want to monitor and receive notifications when they are recognized. 
• When Strangers Recognition Notifications is enabled, you will receive notifications when the number of detected strangers exceeds the threshold you set every 24 hours.

 

    

5. Disable Facial Recognition

To disable the feature, tap Disable Facial Recognition and confirm by selecting Turn Off.
 

 

Features on the hub’s Facial Recognition page

The features on the hub’s Facial Recognition page are almost the same as the camera’s page, including Familiars, Strangers, Facial Recognition Report, and Recognition Notifications. 

Key Differences:

• The hub can add up to 50 familiars and strangers.
• The hub supports the Facial Tracking feature.

 

Q & A

Q1. What are the key functions of Facial Recognition?

 

A. The key functions include: 

• Smart Recognition: Distinguish familiars from strangers based on local AI smart algorithms. 
• Video Management: Automatically categorize the face detection event videos and support video retrieval based on the timeline. 
• Facial Recognition Report: Generate daily/weekly/monthly reports on facial recognition activities, showing the occurrence frequencies and time. 
• Smart notifications: Send push notifications with thumbnail face images. Customize notifications for familiar and unfamiliar faces.

 

Q2. Why do some faces fail to be recognized?

• The face is too far from the device
• The face is moving too quickly
• The face is at a steep angle to the device
• Insufficient lighting in the video. Please ensure sufficient lighting. You can enable the infrared light at night.