diff --git a/mobile/lib/services/machine_learning/face_ml/face_ml_service.dart b/mobile/lib/services/machine_learning/face_ml/face_ml_service.dart
index 98e75b32a..93a6587a5 100644
--- a/mobile/lib/services/machine_learning/face_ml/face_ml_service.dart
+++ b/mobile/lib/services/machine_learning/face_ml/face_ml_service.dart
@@ -127,6 +127,9 @@ class FaceMlService {
       /// hooking FaceML into [MachineLearningController]
       if (Platform.isAndroid) {
         Bus.instance.on<MachineLearningControlEvent>().listen((event) {
+          if (LocalSettings.instance.isFaceIndexingEnabled == false) {
+            return;
+          }
           canRunMLController = event.shouldRun;
           if (canRunMLController) {
             unawaited(indexAllImages());
@@ -332,6 +335,11 @@ class FaceMlService {
       _logger.info("clusterAllImages is already running, skipping");
       return;
     }
+    // verify faces is enabled
+    if (LocalSettings.instance.isFaceIndexingEnabled == false) {
+      _logger.warning("clustering is disabled by user");
+      return;
+    }
 
     final indexingCompleteRatio = await _getIndexedDoneRatio();
     if (indexingCompleteRatio < 0.6) {
@@ -538,7 +546,7 @@ class FaceMlService {
       _logger.warning("indexAllImages is already running, skipping");
       return;
     }
-    // verify indexing is enabled
+    // verify faces is enabled
     if (LocalSettings.instance.isFaceIndexingEnabled == false) {
       _logger.warning("indexing is disabled by user");
       return;
diff --git a/mobile/lib/ui/settings/debug/face_debug_section_widget.dart b/mobile/lib/ui/settings/debug/face_debug_section_widget.dart
index ab35c5f64..5c590818a 100644
--- a/mobile/lib/ui/settings/debug/face_debug_section_widget.dart
+++ b/mobile/lib/ui/settings/debug/face_debug_section_widget.dart
@@ -64,8 +64,8 @@ class _FaceDebugSectionWidgetState extends State<FaceDebugSectionWidget> {
               if (snapshot.hasData) {
                 return CaptionedTextWidget(
                   title: LocalSettings.instance.isFaceIndexingEnabled
-                      ? "Disable indexing (${snapshot.data!})"
-                      : "Enable indexing (${snapshot.data!})",
+                      ? "Disable faces (${snapshot.data!})"
+                      : "Enable faces (${snapshot.data!})",
                 );
               }
               return const SizedBox.shrink();
@@ -78,9 +78,7 @@ class _FaceDebugSectionWidgetState extends State<FaceDebugSectionWidget> {
             try {
               final isEnabled =
                   await LocalSettings.instance.toggleFaceIndexing();
-              if (isEnabled) {
-                FaceMlService.instance.indexAllImages().ignore();
-              } else {
+              if (!isEnabled) {
                 FaceMlService.instance.pauseIndexing();
               }
               if (mounted) {
diff --git a/mobile/lib/ui/viewer/search_tab/search_tab.dart b/mobile/lib/ui/viewer/search_tab/search_tab.dart
index 427b70583..46dcfda03 100644
--- a/mobile/lib/ui/viewer/search_tab/search_tab.dart
+++ b/mobile/lib/ui/viewer/search_tab/search_tab.dart
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ import "package:photos/ui/viewer/search_tab/file_type_section.dart";
 import "package:photos/ui/viewer/search_tab/locations_section.dart";
 import "package:photos/ui/viewer/search_tab/moments_section.dart";
 import "package:photos/ui/viewer/search_tab/people_section.dart";
+import "package:photos/utils/local_settings.dart";
 
 class SearchTab extends StatefulWidget {
   const SearchTab({Key? key}) : super(key: key);
@@ -114,6 +115,9 @@ class _AllSearchSectionsState extends State<AllSearchSections> {
                   itemBuilder: (context, index) {
                     switch (searchTypes[index]) {
                       case SectionType.face:
+                        if (!LocalSettings.instance.isFaceIndexingEnabled) {
+                          return const SizedBox.shrink();
+                        }
                         return PeopleSection(
                           examples: snapshot.data!.elementAt(index)
                               as List<GenericSearchResult>,