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 b9b17c525..84840bc32 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
@@ -126,10 +126,10 @@ class FaceMlService {
       }
 
       isInitialized = true;
-      canRunMLController = !Platform.isAndroid;
+      canRunMLController = !Platform.isAndroid || kDebugMode;
 
       /// hooking FaceML into [MachineLearningController]
-      if (Platform.isAndroid) {
+      if (Platform.isAndroid && !kDebugMode) {
         Bus.instance.on<MachineLearningControlEvent>().listen((event) {
           if (LocalSettings.instance.isFaceIndexingEnabled == false) {
             return;
@@ -153,7 +153,7 @@ class FaceMlService {
 
   void listenIndexOnDiffSync() {
     Bus.instance.on<DiffSyncCompleteEvent>().listen((event) async {
-      if (LocalSettings.instance.isFaceIndexingEnabled == false) {
+      if (LocalSettings.instance.isFaceIndexingEnabled == false || kDebugMode) {
         return;
       }
       // [neeraj] intentional delay in starting indexing on diff sync, this gives time for the user
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 363d08699..96dc71e6b 100644
--- a/mobile/lib/ui/settings/debug/face_debug_section_widget.dart
+++ b/mobile/lib/ui/settings/debug/face_debug_section_widget.dart
@@ -92,18 +92,10 @@ class _FaceDebugSectionWidgetState extends State<FaceDebugSectionWidget> {
         ),
         sectionOptionSpacing,
         MenuItemWidget(
-          captionedTextWidget: FutureBuilder<int>(
-            future: FaceMLDataDB.instance.getIndexedFileCount(),
-            builder: (context, snapshot) {
-              if (snapshot.hasData) {
-                return CaptionedTextWidget(
-                  title: LocalSettings.instance.remoteFetchEnabled
-                      ? "Remote fetch Enabled"
-                      : "Remote fetch Disabled",
-                );
-              }
-              return const SizedBox.shrink();
-            },
+          captionedTextWidget: CaptionedTextWidget(
+            title: LocalSettings.instance.remoteFetchEnabled
+                ? "Remote fetch enabled"
+                : "Remote fetch disabled",
           ),
           pressedColor: getEnteColorScheme(context).fillFaint,
           trailingIcon: Icons.chevron_right_outlined,
@@ -121,6 +113,29 @@ class _FaceDebugSectionWidgetState extends State<FaceDebugSectionWidget> {
           },
         ),
         sectionOptionSpacing,
+        MenuItemWidget(
+          captionedTextWidget: CaptionedTextWidget(
+            title: FaceMlService.instance.canRunMLController
+                ? "canRunML enabled"
+                : "canRunML disabled",
+          ),
+          pressedColor: getEnteColorScheme(context).fillFaint,
+          trailingIcon: Icons.chevron_right_outlined,
+          trailingIconIsMuted: true,
+          onTap: () async {
+            try {
+              FaceMlService.instance.canRunMLController =
+                  !FaceMlService.instance.canRunMLController;
+              if (mounted) {
+                setState(() {});
+              }
+            } catch (e, s) {
+              _logger.warning('canRunML toggle failed ', e, s);
+              await showGenericErrorDialog(context: context, error: e);
+            }
+          },
+        ),
+        sectionOptionSpacing,
         MenuItemWidget(
           captionedTextWidget: FutureBuilder<double>(
             future: FaceMLDataDB.instance.getClusteredToTotalFacesRatio(),