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Google follows up ‘Art Selfie’ with new camera mode that matches your pets to famous portraits [Update: Now on iOS]

Google Arts & Culture went momentarily viral in 2018 for introducing a camera feature that compares your selfie to famous portraits, and the app is now offering the same capability for pets.

Update 11/8: Version 9.0.29 of Google Arts & Culture for iOS is available today with “Pet Portraits.” There also a “brand-new immersive look and feel for the Camera menu” that replaces the previous list with a filter-like interface.


Original 11/4: After updating to version 9.0.27 of Google Arts & Culture on Android — it’s not yet available on iOS, tapping the camera button at the center of the bottom bar immediately takes you to “Pet Portraits.” Take a picture of your pet and Google will compare it to “artworks from museums around the world.” 

Travel through artworks and discover which ones look most like your pet. This new, experimental feature uses computer vision technology to compare your pet’s photo with 1000s of historical artworks.

This includes paintings, sculptures, and old photographs, while it’s not limited to just dogs or cats. Pet Portraits can find artwork with foxes, sheep, and various four-legged creatures, as well as birds and fish. 

Similar to human selfies, you’re given matches ranked by a percentage. You can view them as swipeable stills or a story-like slideshow. Meanwhile you have the ability to retake, save, and share. The latter two options generate a card that features your image and the famous artwork with accompanying information including where the work can be found. 

The Pet Portraits mode joins other camera/augmented reality capabilities in Google Arts & Culture like:

  • Art Projector: See how artworks look in real size
  • Color Palette: Find art by using the colors of your photos
  • Art Filter: Try filters based on artifacts from museums
  • Art Transfer: Take a photo and transform it with classic artworks
  • Pocket Gallery: Wander through immersive galleries and get up close to art

More on Google Arts & Culture:

Dylan Roussel contributed to this article

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Avatar for Abner Li Abner Li

Editor-in-chief. Interested in the minutiae of Google and Alphabet. Tips/talk: abner@9to5g.com