Why we can still recognise people in face masks Most of us take this ability to recognise familiar faces for granted People find it surprisingly easy to recognise familiar faces behind masks (Image: Getty Images) Subscribe today to get the latest headlines straight to your inbox with our free email updatesInvalid EmailSomething went wrong, please try again later. Sign up When you subscribe we will use the information you provide to send you these newsletters. Your information will be used in accordance with ourPrivacy Notice. Thank you for subscribingWe have more newslettersShow meSee ourprivacy notice The average person knows about 5,000 faces – from family and friends to the cashier at the local store. Most people can recognise familiar faces with ease, even from low quality images, or from photos that are many years old. We often recognise familiar faces even if we can’t remember a person’s name or how we know them.