---
slug: "gcp-cloud-vision-face-detection-emotion-likelihood-fields-breaking-change"
title: "Cloud Vision: face detection emotion likelihood fields return UNKNOWN"
summary: "From 14 Jan 2027, the joyLikelihood, sorrowLikelihood, angerLikelihood and surpriseLikelihood fields in FaceAnnotation of the Cloud Vision API permanently return UNKNOWN for all projects. Since 15 Oct 2026, these fields return UNKNOWN for new projects and projects without recent Face Detection usage."
cloud: "gcp"
service: "Cloud Vision"
service_slug: "cloud-vision"
category: "feature"
type: "breaking_change"
announced_date: null
effective_date: "2027-01-14"
effective_precision: "day"
replacement: null
affected_versions: []
source_url: "https://docs.cloud.google.com/release-notes#October_15_2026"
extra_source_urls: ["https://docs.cloud.google.com/vision/docs/reference/rest/v1/AnnotateImageResponse#FaceAnnotation"]
vendor_ref: null
last_checked_at: "2026-11-14T17:00:09.102Z"
created_at: "2026-11-14T17:02:56.143Z"
updated_at: "2026-11-14T17:02:56.143Z"
url: "https://eolwatch.dev/items/gcp-cloud-vision-face-detection-emotion-likelihood-fields-breaking-change"
short_url: "https://eolwatch.dev/i/ff"
markdown_url: "https://eolwatch.dev/items/gcp-cloud-vision-face-detection-emotion-likelihood-fields-breaking-change.md"
json_url: "https://eolwatch.dev/items/gcp-cloud-vision-face-detection-emotion-likelihood-fields-breaking-change.json"
source_note: null
---

# Cloud Vision: face detection emotion likelihood fields return UNKNOWN

From 14 Jan 2027, the joyLikelihood, sorrowLikelihood, angerLikelihood and surpriseLikelihood fields in FaceAnnotation of the Cloud Vision API permanently return UNKNOWN for all projects. Since 15 Oct 2026, these fields return UNKNOWN for new projects and projects without recent Face Detection usage.

- Effective date: 14 Jan 2027
- Cloud: [GCP](https://eolwatch.dev/cloud/gcp.md)
- Service: [Cloud Vision](https://eolwatch.dev/services/gcp/cloud-vision.md)
- Type: Breaking change
- Category: [Feature](https://eolwatch.dev/categories/features.md)
- Replacement: Not stated by vendor
- Announced: Not stated by vendor
- Official source: [docs.cloud.google.com](https://docs.cloud.google.com/release-notes#October_15_2026)
- Last checked: 14 Nov 2026

## What breaks

Google has deprecated the emotion label response for face detection (FACE_DETECTION) in the Cloud Vision API. From 14 Jan 2027, the joyLikelihood, sorrowLikelihood, angerLikelihood and surpriseLikelihood fields in FaceAnnotation permanently return UNKNOWN for all projects. Since 15 Oct 2026, these fields return UNKNOWN for new projects and projects without recent Face Detection usage. Google's face detection guide states that a FACE_DETECTION response includes bounding boxes for all faces detected, landmarks detected on the faces, and confidence ratings for face and image properties.

## What to do

Google has not published migration steps. See the source for details.

## Replacement

Not stated by vendor.

## Sources

- [Official source](https://docs.cloud.google.com/release-notes#October_15_2026) (docs.cloud.google.com, Official)
- [Additional source](https://docs.cloud.google.com/vision/docs/reference/rest/v1/AnnotateImageResponse#FaceAnnotation) (docs.cloud.google.com, Official)

Last checked against the first source in this list on 14 Nov 2026.

Page: https://eolwatch.dev/items/gcp-cloud-vision-face-detection-emotion-likelihood-fields-breaking-change | JSON: https://eolwatch.dev/items/gcp-cloud-vision-face-detection-emotion-likelihood-fields-breaking-change.json

The text on this page is drafted with AI assistance from the vendor's text, checked against the official source and approved by a person before it is published.