# A Picasa replacement for Windows 11, with faces and local search > Picasa was retired in 2016. Here is what made it loved — local folders, face grouping, fast browsing — and how to get all of it back on Windows 11, plus search by description. Source: https://firelet.media/blog/picasa-replacement-windows-11 Published: 2026-10-07 · Updated: 2026-10-07 Applies to: Windows Picasa was the photo program a lot of families never wanted to give up. Google retired it in 2016, and many people are still looking for something that works the same way: point it at your folders, see everything fast, find the faces, make a few quick fixes, and never upload a thing. firelet.media Gallery is built on exactly those ideas for Windows 10 and 11, and adds the one thing Picasa never had: finding a photo by describing it. ## What made Picasa great Ask people what they miss and the same five things come up: 1. **It used the folders you already had.** No import into a hidden library, no moving files. 2. **It found faces** and let you name people once. 3. **It was fast**, even on a big library on an ordinary PC. 4. **Simple, safe edits**: crop, straighten, brighten, with the original kept. 5. **Nothing went anywhere** unless you chose to share it. A replacement worth switching to has to keep all five. ## How firelet.media Gallery covers each one ### Your folders, left exactly where they are Add a folder — or a whole drive, or your OneDrive, Dropbox or Google Drive folder — and the gallery indexes it in place. Nothing is moved, copied or renamed. Ratings, keywords, albums and edits are kept in the gallery's own library, and written to standard XMP sidecar files only when you ask. See [how to add your photo folders](https://firelet.media/help/add-photo-folders). ### Faces, found on your PC Open **People** (Alt+5), download the face models once (about 39 MB), and press **Find faces**. Faces are grouped by who they look like; name a group once and every photo of that person is one click away. It all runs on your own computer — [how offline face recognition works](https://firelet.media/help/find-and-name-people). ### Fast on a big library The library is a local database, so scrolling, filtering and searching never wait on the internet. Rescans only read the files that changed. ### Edits that never touch the original Crop, straighten, exposure, warmth, vibrance or one-click Auto — kept as instructions beside the photo, so the original file is never rewritten. Export a finished copy when you need one. See [editing without changing originals](https://firelet.media/help/edit-photos-without-changing-originals). ### Private by design There is no account inside the app, no telemetry and no upload. The few things the app does send — a licence check about once a month and an update check — are listed in [what data is sent](https://firelet.media/help/what-data-is-sent). ## What it adds that Picasa never had - **Search by description.** Type "birthday cake" or "boats at sunset" and the whole library is ranked in milliseconds, using AI that runs on your PC. [How it works](https://firelet.media/blog/how-offline-ai-photo-search-works). - **Text in photos.** Words on signs, slides, receipts and screenshots become searchable. - **Near-duplicate finding.** Resized and re-saved copies are found, not just identical files — and nothing is deleted unless you choose it. - **Your phone, over Wi-Fi.** The free Android companion sends phone photos to the PC on your own network, no cable and no cloud. ## Moving from Picasa, step by step 1. **Leave your folders where they are.** Picasa never moved them, and neither does the gallery. 2. **Install the gallery and add the same folders** Picasa was watching. 3. **Let it index.** Dates, camera details and GPS come from the photos' own data. 4. **Find faces and name people.** Picasa's names were in its own files, so they don't come across; naming takes a few minutes per person, and suggestions get better as you go. 5. **Clear duplicates** that years of copying have left behind — see [too many duplicate photos](https://firelet.media/blog/too-many-duplicate-photos). ## When something else is the better choice If you want a free, open-source program with every possible setting, **digiKam** is excellent and runs on Windows too — expect a steeper learning curve. If you mainly want a fast viewer with light organising, **XnView MP** is worth a look. Whatever you pick, check two things: it leaves your folders alone, and it can write standard XMP, so you are never locked in. If you'd like Picasa's simplicity with modern search, [try firelet.media Gallery free for 14 days](https://firelet.media/download/) on your whole library — every feature, no limits. ## Questions ### Can I still use Picasa on Windows 11? Google stopped developing and supporting the Picasa desktop app in 2016. Old installers may still start, but nothing has been fixed since then, and it was never built for today's phone formats such as HEIC. ### Will firelet.media Gallery read my Picasa albums and face names? No. Picasa kept those in its own database and hidden .picasa.ini files, which the gallery does not read. Your photos, folders and the dates and places inside the files come across untouched. Faces are found again automatically, and you name each person once. ### Does it upload my photos like Google Photos does? No. The gallery indexes the folders you already have and runs face recognition and search on your own PC. Nothing is uploaded. ### Is it free like Picasa was? No. It is $160 once per computer, with a 14-day free trial that has every feature and no limits. Updates after that are optional.