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Iphone Privacy Security Apple

Apple Might Let You Use Face ID With a Mask in the Next iOS Update (theverge.com) 50

Apple appears to be testing a feature that will let you use Face ID to unlock the phone even when wearing a mask. From a report: The first developer beta for iOS 15.4 has a screen that asks if you want to be able to use Face ID while wearing a mask, at the cost of reduced security, according to photos from Brandon Butch on Twitter and MacRumors. According to pictures of the screen, Apple says that "iPhone can recognize the unique features around the eye area to authenticate" but warns that Face ID is going to be more accurate if you have it set to not work with a mask.
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Apple Might Let You Use Face ID With a Mask in the Next iOS Update

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  • Of course the reason I switched to Android in 2020 wasn't because of any issue with Face ID, or any beef with Apple. Just that I was getting board with iOS, and wanted to try something different. However that being said, shopping with Google Pay, because the Android phone had a finger print reader did make things easier vs trying to use FaceID

    • because the Android phone had a finger print reader did make things easier vs trying to use FaceID

      I always hated fingerprint scanners, not just because they are flaky (and get flakier as you age), not just because FaceID is faster than a fingerprint scanner, but also because in winter you have to remove gloves to use them.

      For some time already you've been able to unlock an iPhone while wearing a mask, if you also have an Apple Watch on and it has been great. I like FaceID was more than fingerprint sensor

      • but also because in winter you have to remove gloves to use them

        It's a pain for some, but I think the midwest and northeast population centers are smaller than the west and sunbelt, where gloves aren't really widely used. In the end, I'm all for ways to let users determine what level of security they want

      • by Bert64 ( 520050 )

        and they work at all in winter.

        Well some of us wear face coverings in winter to keep the cold wind off our faces.

        It would be nice to have both options.

        Also the apple watch only lets you unlock the phone, not authenticate for payments etc.

    • by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

      My wife stopped using Apple Pay when the mask requirement came in.

      When Apple started putting an almost reasonable number if ports on their laptops I thought they might bring back the fingerprint sensor on the iPhone. Seems not though.

    • I but simply unlock my phone with a 4 digit code. — I find this far faster than the camera which does not work properly in the dark or when my hair is in front of my face or when I'm even wearing a scarf.

      Automatic unlocking with a face seems to be a case of technology that exists for the “cool factor”, not the “practical factor”. — Entering four digits is very fast.

      • To use my phone for work, either biometircs or a full complex password is needed. So the fingerprint or face scan makes things much easier.

        • I think a four digit code with only three tries is far more than facial recognition which can often be fooled by simply holding a picture of the owner in front of it. The chance of brute-forcing the four-digit code in three attempts is very low.

  • by alvinrod ( 889928 ) on Thursday January 27, 2022 @04:56PM (#62213129)
    If they cared that much they'd bring the Touch ID sensor back, but is it that big of a deal to pull a mask down for half a second or to just type in a passcode or password?
    • by DarkOx ( 621550 ) on Thursday January 27, 2022 @05:01PM (#62213149) Journal

      Are you kidding! Being unmasked for even a second is the equivalent of murdering like 1000 peoples grandmas!

      What kind of monster are you!

    • is it that big of a deal to pull a mask down for half a second

      Apparently you have not been anywhere around other people for well over a year (or maybe you just live in Florida/Texas).

      This is the modern day equivalent of peeing against a wall. Yes you CAN do it but it will really anger a lot of people around you...

      • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

        by Arethan ( 223197 )

        This sounds like either hyperbole or you're trying to be funny. But, I really can't tell, because I definitely moved to Florida/Texas after people started losing their minds from mass hypochondriasis.

        • Re: (Score:2, Informative)

          by SuperKendall ( 25149 )

          This sounds like either hyperbole or you're trying to be funny.

          Sadly neither. Many people give you the side eye if you mess with the mask at all. Some will yell at/hit you.

          • by Arethan ( 223197 )

            Some will yell at/hit you

            So they're willing to commit assault/battery? Now I'm almost certain this is hyperbole. Or maybe you just live amidst the most egregious flock of virtue signalers on the planet.

          • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

            by kunwon1 ( 795332 )
            This is utterly nonsensical fox-news-level drivel
            I live in a place that conservatives basically consider hell on earth, a 'liberal' paradise (their words, not mine)
            This simply does not happen
            The people who claim it does are generally going out looking for conflict or for an excuse to feel attacked
          • by King_TJ ( 85913 )

            I've seen a few really unhinged people walking around out there .... but thankfully, nobody who ever wanted to go up and hit somebody for taking their mask off for a moment.

            I can tell you, if they pulled that B.S. with me, I'd make sure to breathe right in their face, since that's what they seem to fear the most.

      • I say let the fuckers get angry. Peer pressure is for children and teens, not adults.

    • by ljw1004 ( 764174 )

      is it that big of a deal to pull a mask down for half a second?

      I find it really irritating. I wear glasses and live in a cold climate, and I've never seen anyone who's fully solved the problem of mask-induced fogging. The only solution I've found is to push the bridge of my mask high up my nose and settle my glasses in front of the nosepiece. It has to make a tight seal to stop fogging, and the glasses end up in an awkward position that takes several adjustments to get comfortable. I also have to have both hands free to do it. Being able to do single-handed face-id log

      • by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

        The only think I've found that works to stop fogging is an N95 mask properly fitted.

        Most masks, even the ones with other certifications, are only designed to stop about 90% of the exhaled breath from escaping unfiltered. That means if you have them fitted perfectly, they still leak 10%. Because of the difficulty in creating a seal around your nose, most of it goes up to your glasses.

        An N95 mask will have head straps instead of ear straps. It will feel pretty tight and make a much better seal, allowing a max

      • by mark-t ( 151149 )

        I wear glasses and live in a cold climate, and I've never seen anyone who's fully solved the problem of mask-induced fogging. I hear you.

        But the problem can actually be solved with a mask that actually form fits to your nose correctly, and your glasses can stay where they normally are. I appreciate that getting this kind of fit can be hard to achieve, and will not even necessarily be possible with all masks, but it is not impossible,

    • I really wish they would bring back Touch ID. Face ID was a PITA even before Covid. If your phone lays flat on your desk and you want to unlock it, you have to either pick it up or hover over it with your face. In a lot of other instances you'll have to consciously aim the thing at your face. I suppose there's worse things, what with Covid, erupting volcanoes, military coups in Africa and sabre rattling around the Ukraine...But still. Touch ID just worked a lot better for me.
      • by tlhIngan ( 30335 )

        I really wish they would bring back Touch ID. Face ID was a PITA even before Covid. If your phone lays flat on your desk and you want to unlock it, you have to either pick it up or hover over it with your face. In a lot of other instances you'll have to consciously aim the thing at your face. I suppose there's worse things, what with Covid, erupting volcanoes, military coups in Africa and sabre rattling around the Ukraine...But still. Touch ID just worked a lot better for me.

        The problem is Touch ID is far l

        • It works with glasses off sometimes too, I'm starting to think it's not quite random, but IDK. Seems like after it unlocks that way, with a lower confidence match or whatever, it doesn't want to do it again for a while. That's my gut feeling anyway.

        • by mark-t ( 151149 )

          The problem is Touch ID is far less secure - it's not magic and every trick that fools a fingerprint sensor fools Touch ID as well, including the old silicone jelly trick.

          So don't force it on people who don't want to use it.

          Fooling Face ID is much harder because it's actually taking a 3D image of your face, so photos can't really fool it. The only reliable way is to use an identical twin.

          Or a silicone mask,. or in some cases, even a life sized mannequin head.

          No security is perfect. Why not just let the

    • If they cared that much they'd bring the Touch ID sensor back, but is it that big of a deal to pull a mask down for half a second or to just type in a passcode or password?

      Most iPhone users are not on the annual upgrade cycle, so even if Apple brought Touch ID back in some fashion, it’d be years before most iPhone users would have it in their hands again. An update like this provides immediate relief to most iPhone users, so it arguably demonstrates their care better than your suggestion does.

      Moreover, as a glasses wearer, pulling a mask down takes longer than a couple of seconds to recover from (and if you rush it, you’re more likely to end up with foggy glasses)

      • by pjt33 ( 739471 )

        The impression I get from your use cases is that what you really need is a way to make the phone stay unlocked for longer.

        • The impression I get from your use cases is that what you really need is a way to make the phone stay unlocked for longer.

          What I really want is to have my cake and eat it too, which is how it used to be.

          There are more use cases in my life where I want my phone to lock rapidly than use cases where I want my phone to stay unlocked for a long time, hence why it's configured as it is. Prior to COVID, I could use Face ID's attention awareness feature to get the best of both worlds: I could set a short interval for locking the phone, but then every time I glanced at my phone it would recognize my attention and ensure that it remaine

    • by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

      My wife tried it and it doesn't seem to work very well. It feels like once the phone has seen your masked face it won't recognize your unmasked face until you move out of its field of view and back in again.

      To make matters worse it needs to see your face when you are holding the phone near the payment terminal, so you have to kind of lean over it. If you unlock and then place it on the terminal, it wants to see your face again. It might have improved, she gave up trying a couple of years ago.

  • Doesn't work on iPhone 11 or XR
  • by gweihir ( 88907 ) on Thursday January 27, 2022 @05:03PM (#62213159)

    Impressive.

  • Basically they're crippling facial recognition.
    Just say it.

  • by Anonymous Coward

    ... seriously?

    Covid and mask wearing have been going on for almost two years for most of the world. One would think that with 3T in market cap that the engineers at One Infinity Loop could have gotten this out the door a bit faster. Criminy, could have had an elephant in this time.

    Took them over a year to do the Apple Watch thing... which isn't 100% - I'm still having to enter the pin for non-financial items.

    At Apple, make it work then make it better isn't a mantra. They try for Make it Perfect - which t

  • now only if they would let you use FaceID with the new NotchBook^W^W^W^W^W^W^W^W^W MacBook Pro. Oh wait, I forgot that reaching across my desk for the TouchID is good enough according to Apple, because they never considered that someone might use a different keyboard while at a desk...

  • by belroth ( 103586 ) on Thursday January 27, 2022 @08:43PM (#62213851)
    It might be useful to clarify that Apple Might Let You Use Face ID With a Mask Without an Apple Watch in the Next iOS Update. For anyone that doesn't know if you are wearing a paired, unlocked, apple watch Face ID will unlock an iPhone while the user is wearing a mask.
  • by billyswong ( 1858858 ) on Thursday January 27, 2022 @10:49PM (#62214043)

    I lock my phone so that it can't be opened without my CONSENT, not for preventing it being opened without my PRESENCE. All these fingerprint ID / Face ID to phones and computers is fake security in my eyes, no matter how much advanced technology are utilized in them. Even a short, simple, "insecure" passcode / password is better than those biometric stuff.

    The line of thinking is as follow: If I lost my phone or someone rob it for monetary gain, the robber is extremely unlikely to brute force my unlock password after a few tries because it is not financially profitable. If someone steal or seize my phone for the data inside, he or she is extremely likely under the order of someone powerful. He or she will probably be also capable to kidnap me, either legally (if they call themselves "government") or illegally. With fingerprint ID or face ID, the gang will be able to unlock my phone easily without any hacking / password brute-forcing / beating me info confession. Therefore, any use of fingerprint ID or face ID is a security hole.

    • All good insights, but I'll raise the issue of shoulder surfing. Biometrics do protect against that corner of a threat model.

      • All good insights, but I'll raise the issue of shoulder surfing. Biometrics do protect against that corner of a threat model.

        In this sense it is a good idea to separate sensitive stuff or financial operation into another password different from screen unlocking. To the truly paranoid, they may consider activating both password and biometrics, requesting both of them to be cleared before devices are unlocked. But for general public, avoid operations that involve the second password in public places and keep those work at home / somewhere alone and camera-less is good enough. One shouldn't do sensitive work under the risk of shoul

    • I equate this to the rise in car jackings. A decade or more ago there was still a large supply of vehicles in use which didn't have a whole lot of security. Some basic tools (slide hammer) was all it took to make off with one while the owner was not present. It's usually not that simple anymore so now victims find themselves at the end of a weapon instead.
  • Of course, it assumes you have an Apple watch as well, though millions do. As long as your watch is on your wrist and previously paired, the iphone will unlock even when you are wearing a mask. Very handy.
    • Not by default, but it's easy to turn on and the preconditions like needing a passcode on the watch are things most people already have.

      • yes you need to turn it on, and authenticate your watch when you put it on, but from then it is in essence forgotten. Really a lot nicer when going out with my phone.
  • ...but the upside is that the guy who mugs me for my phone now has to peel off and take with him only the top half of my face instead of the whole thing.
  • I'm not saying they should force people to use it that don't want it. but just at least they should give the user the option.

Love may laugh at locksmiths, but he has a profound respect for money bags. -- Sidney Paternoster, "The Folly of the Wise"

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