Facial symmetry test
Pheno measures left-right symmetry from one front-facing photo: how far your eyes, eyebrows and jaw sit from the middle of your face on each side, with every line drawn on your photo so you can see what was measured.
What facial symmetry means
A symmetrical face is one whose left and right halves mirror each other. No real face does this exactly: one eye sits a little higher, one brow arches more, one side of the jaw is slightly fuller. Small differences like these are normal, and most people never notice them in others.
A symmetry test does not decide whether your face is symmetrical enough. It measures how large the left-right differences are in a particular photo.
How Pheno measures it
A landmark model places 68 points on your face. Then:
- The midline is set halfway between the outermost points of your face outline, at about ear level. Every offset is measured against it.
- For three pairs (the centers of your eyes, the centers of your eyebrows and the angles of your jaw), Pheno measures how far each side sits from the midline.
- Each distance is given as a percent of your face width, so the size of the photo does not matter.
- The report shows each pair side by side, left / right, against a reference of equal, and draws the lines on your photo.
When Pheno will not measure symmetry
A photo is flat. If your head is turned, the side nearer the camera looks wider; if it is tilted, one eye looks higher. Both show up as asymmetry that is not in your face.
So Pheno first estimates your head pose from a 478-point face mesh. If your head is tilted more than about 8 degrees or turned more than about 10 degrees, the report says symmetry was not measured at this head angle and gives no numbers for it. It does not try to correct a distorted number and present it as real. If a full beard hides the line of your jaw, the jaw pair is left out for the same reason.
What the result tells you, and what it does not
It tells you how far three pairs of features sit from the midline in this photo. It does not measure your face in three dimensions, and lighting, expression, hair and the camera lens can all shift the numbers a little. Two photos taken minutes apart will not match exactly.
It is not a diagnosis and not a reason to change anything about your face.
How to take a photo that measures well
- Look straight into the camera with your head level. Keep your nose pointed at the lens.
- Hold the camera at eye level, at least an arm’s length away, or have someone else take it.
- Use even light from the front so neither side is in shadow.
- Keep a relaxed, neutral expression. A smile is rarely even on both sides.
- Pull hair back from your face and jaw, and remove glasses.
Questions
- Is a perfectly symmetrical face normal?
- No. Almost every face has small left-right differences, and most go unnoticed. The test puts numbers on the differences in one photo; it does not say that they are a problem.
- Is the symmetry test free?
- The free scan shows a model attractiveness score, grade, capture range, percentile and your face shape. The symmetry measurements are in the full report, a one-time $14.99 (launch price until Nov 30, then $19.99), together with the other measurements drawn on your photo.
- Why does it say symmetry was not measured?
- Pheno estimates how far your head is turned and tilted. When the head is tilted more than about 8 degrees or turned more than about 10 degrees, it shows symmetry as not measured at this head angle instead of reporting a distorted number. A straight-on photo measures it.
- Does a more symmetrical face get a higher score?
- Not by any rule in Pheno. The attractiveness score comes from a separate model that learned from human ratings of photos, and the symmetry measurements are not used to calculate it. The model may still pick up on symmetry the way human raters did.
- Can this detect a medical problem?
- No. It is for entertainment and is not a medical test. If one side of your face suddenly droops or feels weak, get emergency medical help right away.
For entertainment. Not medical, psychological or cosmetic advice. How your photo is handled is set out in the Privacy Policy.
Also: Face shape test · How attractive am I?