How the face symmetry test works
The face symmetry test shows how closely the two halves of your face mirror each other. It builds two mirrored faces from your photo, one from each half, and gives you a symmetry score with a feature by feature breakdown. Everything happens on your own device.
- Your photo stays on your device. It is read by your browser and never uploaded.
- Your face is mapped. A face model in your browser places hundreds of points on your eyes, brows, nose, lips, jaw and outline. Most of them come in matching pairs, one on each side.
- Your head is straightened. The points come with depth, so the tool turns your face to look straight at the camera before comparing the sides. It also measures the mirror image of your photo and averages the two, so the face model has no left or right bias of its own.
- The sides are compared. For each pair of points, the tool reflects one across the midline of your face and measures how far it lands from its twin, as a share of the distance between your eyes.
- You get your score and your mirrored faces. The average distance becomes a score out of 100, and the tool straightens your photo and builds the two mirrored faces.
What facial symmetry means
Facial symmetry is how closely the left and right halves of a face mirror each other across a line down the middle. No real face is perfectly symmetrical. One eye usually sits a little higher, one brow arches more, and the nose and jaw lean a fraction to one side. Differences like these are normal and mostly go unnoticed, which is why the test tells you how close your two sides are rather than whether they match.
What the mirrored faces show
The tool draws a line down the middle of your face, through your forehead, the bridge of your nose, your lips and your chin. Then it makes two new faces.
- The left side of the photo, mirrored. The left half is kept and copied onto the right, so the face is perfectly symmetrical.
- The right side of the photo, mirrored. The same with the right half.
Because each half is doubled, any difference between your two sides shows up twice. That is why the two faces often look like siblings rather than twins, even when your score is high. It is a striking way to see something every face has.
How to get the most accurate result
Symmetry is the measure most sensitive to pose, because a turned head makes one side look narrower than the other.
- Face the camera straight on. Line your nose up with the middle of the screen. The tool asks for a new photo if your head is turned or tilted more than a little.
- Hold the phone at eye level, an arm length away. A close camera exaggerates whichever side is nearer.
- Use even light. Light from one side throws shadow across the other, which can move the points the model places.
- Keep a relaxed, neutral face. Many smiles and raised brows are a little uneven, which lowers the score.
- Pull your hair back and take off glasses. Hair over one eye or a heavy frame can hide points on one side.
Understanding your result
- Your symmetry score is out of 100. Every face has small differences, so nobody scores 100. In our tests, 8 in 10 faces scored between 84 and 96.
- Feature by feature shows a score for your eyes, brows, nose, mouth and lips, jaw and chin, and the outline of your cheeks, from most to least symmetrical.
- The mirrored faces show both halves doubled. Tick the box to add them to your share card.
- Show what was measured draws the midline and a few matching points on your photo.
Your result always carries the same reminder. The score measures the geometry of one photo. It says nothing about your worth, your charm or how people feel about you.
Accuracy, limits and the science
Nearly every human face is a little asymmetrical. The two sides grow separately, and everyday habits such as chewing, sleeping on one side and smiling in a favorite way add small differences over the years. Research has found a modest link between facial symmetry and how attractive faces are rated, but the link is weaker than many people think, and perfectly symmetrical composite faces often look slightly strange.
We tested the face symmetry test on 912 public portraits from two licensed sets, with people of many ages and backgrounds. 201 were straight on enough to measure. The median score was 92, and the middle half of faces scored between 89 and 94. A mirrored copy of a photo changed the score by about 0.2 points on average, and a half size copy by about the same, so the score reflects the face and not which way the photo was flipped. Read the full results on our methodology page.
Some limits to keep in mind.
- Even a small head turn makes the far side of the face look narrower. The tool removes most of this, but a photo that is truly straight on is always best.
- The face model places points on the surface of the face. It cannot see bone, and it smooths very small details.
- The mirrored faces are made by straightening and folding the photo, so hair, ears and background on each side are copied too.
- The test describes the geometry of a photo. It is not a medical check and says nothing about health.
Privacy
Your photo never leaves your device. It is read by your browser, measured and mirrored there, and forgotten when you close the page. We do not upload it, store it or see it. The share card is made on your device too, and your mirrored faces appear on it only if you tick the box.
Read our privacy policy for the full details, or learn more in our guides to symmetrical faces and why you look different in the mirror.