Why the Pixel 8's Face Unlock upgrade is a big deal
Why the Pixel 8's Face Unlock upgrade is a big deal
Face unlock on the Pixel 8 doesn’t compromise on security.
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I get that it's a convenience, but does anyone else still avoid face and fingerprint unlocks? It seems useless if I was forced to unlock my phone by someone violent, like the police.
It seems useless if I was forced to unlock my phone by someone violent, like the police.
My life seems a great deal more boring and uneventful than most people around these parts.
it's Lemmy most of us are very big on privacy and such it's not the fact most really at risk for that just that it could happen and would rather be safe then sorry
Pins and passwords is something people can glance at to find out what it is. And there's cameras all around. It's why I preferred finger or face unlock in public, and worst case scenario I can turn off phone to require a pin.
I feel like a short password is a much bigger security risk.
There are ways to disable the fingerprint scan in the moment. Different phones have different norms around this, but one universal option: pick a finger to not code into your phone. When a cop asks you to unlock your phone, say okay, use that finger five times in a row, oh no, you're locked out, man, this fingerprint reader sure is finnicky, oh well!
If you're that concerned, if you power your phone off, biometrics will not unlock the phone after it's turned back on, only the pin. So if you find yourself in a predicament where you think someone will try to unlock your phone without your consent via biometrics, as, long as you turn your phone off before they get it, they won't be able to get in without a PIN.
You don't even need to turn it off. Long press the power button and then hit lock
If you're being assaulted you may not have time to turn it off. I don't know about pixels but my phone doesn't just shut off when I hold the power button. I have to hold it and then select power off. That would be difficult if I was under attack by someone who wanted my phone.
I just disable fingerprint with a a button press if it comes to it but I also don't go anywhere lol.
Also Homeland Security has my fingerprints and iris for an old job so... meh.
How often does that happen?
As long as finger/face scans stay secured on device it's pretty innocuous imo. And you can quickly enter the "lockdown" state, which disables biometrics. Law enforcement cannot force you to enter passwords in any civilized country I know of.
I do, but I question the point. Anyone that wanted to get into my phone would probably already be monitoring me and honestly I'm not that cautious of entering my pattern/password when (for example) travelling on the bus.
in the power menu you can also disable biometrics on next lock until you open it again on some phones in the pixel does and pretty sure Samsung does as well