What Is a FACE File?

This is a Usenix FaceServer image format that you can convert to JPG for broader compatibility

By
Tim Fisher
Photo of Tim Fisher, Lifewire GM and Writer
Tim Fisher
Senior Vice President & Group General Manager, Tech & Sustainability
  • Emporia State University

Tim Fisher has more than 30 years' of professional technology experience. He's been writing about tech for more than two decades and serves as the SVP and General Manager of Lifewire.

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Updated on March 14, 2023

What to Know

  • A FACE file is a Usenix FaceServer bitmap image.
  • Open one with XnView.
  • Use Konvertor to convert a FACE file to a different image format.

This article explains more about FACE files, like how to open one or convert one to a different image format.

What Is a FACE File?

A file with the FACE or FAC file extension is a Usenix FaceServer graphic file created on Unix-based operating systems. While the format has been replaced by others like JPG and GIF, it was originally used as the format for pictures taken of USENIX conferences.

Some facial recognition systems, especially those on some smartphones, also use this file extension for data that stores face tagging information, and they are of a similar graphics-based format.

Several FACE files in Windows 10 that open with XnView

FACE is also an acronym for some terms that have nothing to do with a file format, like Fiber Access Covering Everyone, Framed Access Communications Environment, and Florida Association for Computers in Education, Inc.

How to Open a FACE File

Open one with the free XnView program. Other graphics tools that work with raster-based images might work as well.

You might also be able to open a FACE file in other image viewers by just renaming the extension to JPG. This trick prompts the program to recognize the file as a JPG, which the program can likely open, and then possibly display the photo correctly if the application can actually recognize the internal structure of the format.

It's impractical to open FACE files from a smartphone because they can use up a lot of storage space if there are lots of them. The Android OS (and maybe similar devices) employ a feature called Tag Buddy that produces FACE files and sometimes FACE folders.

How to Convert a FACE File

Konvertor is one of the few free file converters that should convert a FACE file to another format.

Although it's not free, Graphics Converter Pro supports this and hundreds of other graphic formats.

You might also be able to change the extension to JPG and then use a free image converter to convert the JPG to something else, like PNG.

How to Stop Making FACE Files

Since FACE files on a phone are made automatically through the Tag Buddy feature, you have to turn off Tag Buddy to stop the auto-creation of these files. Consult the documentation for the Tag Buddy system for your particular phone for additional information.

Still Can't Open It?

If your file doesn't open with the tools mentioned above, there's a good chance your file isn't really in this particular format. It might instead be a totally different format with an entirely different file extension, which means that it opens with a different program.

For example, FACE files aren't the same as FACEFX files, which are FaceFX actor 3D model files created with OC3 Entertainment's FaceFX program. Although the two extensions look similar at face value, their formats are actually not related at all.

Another example is FACES. It has just one extra letter at the end, so it's easy to mix it up for a FACE file, but they're actually used by JavaServer Faces.

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