Tag your pets in iOS 17 and iPadOS 17
You can already tag people and places in the Photos app, but now you can do the same with your cats and dogs. Here’s how to flag them in iOS 17.
“[The Photos app] now you can also recognize the cats and dogs that are part of your family,” said Craig Federighi, senior vice president of software engineering at Apple, during the WWDC 2023 keynote.
Pets are just as important as people, and finding the right image of them among the many photos can be difficult. The ability to tag them by name eliminates this problem and allows you to quickly find their best image.
Whether you’re looking for a specific image or want the Photos app to create a slideshow of just your pet, tagging them will make those processes more efficient.
How to tag your pets
Tag your pets in the same way as tagging people in the Photos app. Here’s how to do it.
Open the Photos app. Click Albums on the bottom menu bar. Scroll down until you see the People, Pets and Places section and click on the People and Pets album directory. Find a photo of your pet and click on it. Click “Add Name” at the top of the screen to insert your pet’s name. Once you’ve done that, click on the three dots in the top right corner and select View Photos. You’ll be shown a small selection of photos that iOS 17 thinks belong to your pet.
Select the correct images and confirm them to add them to the collection.
Visual instructions on how to tag additional photos of your pets
Pets that are similar in appearance, such as Siamese cats, may be grouped together in the same album because of their similarities. Your device should figure out the difference between the two as you take more photos of each pet individually, but that’s not promised.
Currently, only cats and dogs can be tagged. Any other pets you have are not supported and cannot be found in the Photos app under People, Pets, or Places.
Pin pets to the top of the page.
Plus, just like with people, you can click on the heart next to your profile picture to pin your pet(s) to the top of the page.
Your pets are just as important
The ability to tag your pets just like people eliminates the need to manually create a separate album for them.
Plus, your device automatically categorizes your pet’s photos so you can find them in one place.