What is Face Recognition?
Face recognition is AI that identifies or matches people by their facial features. The system detects a face in an image, converts it into a numerical "faceprint", and compares that print against a database — answering either "who is this?" (identification) or "is this the same person as in that other footage?" (verification). Modern systems handle angles, partial views and ageing to a useful degree.
In investigations, the common use is not matching against a giant database but cross-camera tracking: finding every appearance of one suspect across hours of footage from multiple cameras, building their movement timeline automatically. Accuracy drops with low resolution, masks and poor light, so responsible systems report confidence scores and require human confirmation. In India, usage by private entities must respect the DPDP Act's consent and purpose rules.