Why This Matters
Photo search is the feature most organisers come to 9Pic for. Before you upgrade, you should be confident that:- 9Pic FaceFind correctly returns a participant’s photos when they upload a selfie.
- 9Pic BibTrack correctly returns a runner’s photos when they enter a BIB number (running events only).
Before You Begin
- You finished Run Your First Event and the event is Live.
- The event has at least 20-50 photos processed. Search quality is harder to judge with fewer photos.
- For BibTrack: the event was created with Event Type = Running and the photos contain visible BIB numbers.
- For FaceFind: the photos contain clear, mostly front-facing faces.
- You have a selfie of someone you know is in the photos, and a BIB number you can verify (running events only).
Test FaceFind (Selfie Search)
Confirm Selfie Search is on
From your event’s Details page, open the configuration tab and confirm Selfie Search is enabled.If it wasn’t enabled when you created the event, turn it on now and re-run Start Processing so 9Pic can build the face index.
Open the participant view
From the event header, click Open Link. Or use Copy Link and open the URL on your phone (selfie search is easier to test on a phone with a fresh selfie).
Run a selfie search
On the participant page, choose Selfie Search (or the equivalent search-by-photo option). Upload a clear, front-facing photo of someone you know is in the gallery.
Score the results
Look at what comes back. Good results look like:
- The first 3-10 results are clearly the same person.
- There may be a few low-confidence near-misses further down.
- The person’s photos that are visibly clear in the gallery are returned.
- No results: face index hasn’t been built. Re-check Selfie Search is on and re-run Start Processing.
- Wrong person at the top: usually means the test photo isn’t front-facing enough, or the gallery has very few faces. Try a clearer selfie.
- All matches missing: confirm the gallery photos actually show the test person’s face.
Test BibTrack (BIB Number Search) — Running Events Only
Confirm Event Type is Running
Open the event’s Details page. The event must have been created with Event Type = Running (or another running-related type) for BIB search to be available.If the event type is wrong, the cleanest fix is to create a fresh test event with the right type. BIB indexing is set up at creation time.
Run a BIB search
On the participant page, choose BIB Search and enter a BIB number you can verify — ideally one whose photos you’ve already eyeballed in the gallery.
Score the results
Good results look like:
- The matched runner’s photos are in the top results.
- The BIB number is clearly visible in those photos.
- Photos where the BIB is occluded or blurry may be missing — that’s expected.
- No results: usually the BIB was never visible enough in the photos. Pick a runner whose BIB you can clearly see.
- Wrong runner returned: often a digit confusion (e.g. 8 vs 3). Try a BIB with very distinct digits.
- Search not available on the page: confirm the event was created with the running type. Re-create as a test if needed.
What Counts as “Good Enough”
Search is probabilistic. A useful question for your decision is not “is search perfect?” but “is search better than what my participants would do manually?”| Signal | What it means |
|---|---|
| Top-3 contains the right person | Strong. This is what most participants experience. |
| Top-10 contains all the obvious photos | Good. Participants will scroll a little. |
| Some near-misses with similar-looking people | Normal. Selfie quality usually fixes this. |
| Top result is a stranger every time | Investigate. Re-check the photos and re-run processing. |
Common Questions
I turned on Selfie Search after creating the event. Why is search empty?
I turned on Selfie Search after creating the event. Why is search empty?
The face index is built during Start Processing. After turning Selfie Search on, run Start Processing again so 9Pic can index the existing photos.
Search returns the wrong photos. Is something broken?
Search returns the wrong photos. Is something broken?
Usually it’s input quality, not the model. Try a clearer, front-facing selfie. For BIB search, pick a BIB you can clearly read in the photos. If problems persist, see Search not working.
Does running search consume credits?
Does running search consume credits?
No. Search is free for participants. Credits are consumed when 9Pic processes photos (during Start Processing), not when participants search.
Can I test FaceFind on a non-running event?
Can I test FaceFind on a non-running event?
Yes. FaceFind works on any event type. Only BIB search is gated to running event types.
My event is small (under 20 photos). Is the test useful?
My event is small (under 20 photos). Is the test useful?
The flow works the same, but your “score” isn’t meaningful. Add more photos before judging search quality.
Why am I getting blocked or 'too many requests' errors?
Why am I getting blocked or 'too many requests' errors?
Search on
trial.9pic.ai is rate-limited for anti-abuse. If you’re hitting limits during legitimate testing, slow down to a handful of searches at a time. If you’ve shared the link with real participants, anti-abuse is doing exactly what it should — stop sharing externally and continue evaluation internally only.Next Steps
Trial Checklist
Tick the search items off the checklist and continue.
AI Analysis
Deeper reference for how AI analysis and rotation work.
Compare Plans
Search works on every paid plan — pick the one that fits your scale.
Search Troubleshooting
If search is empty or wrong, walk through the fix path.