Android 5.0’s improved face unlock feature could replace passwords

Google is offering a new security feature hidden inside its Android 5.0 Lollipop update, which provides an improved version of its face unlock technology, according to a report by TechnoBuffalo.

Called “Trusted Face”, the feature could potentially replace the use of a regular passcode and improves on the previous version of its facial recognition technology it first introduced with Android 4.0.

The original feature took too long to unlock the screen and could even be hacked by an image of the device’s owner.

Trusted Face feature appears to be Android’s answer to Apple’s seamless unlocking technology, Touch ID, which scans the user’s fingerprint automatically.

When users turn on their Android device, the Trusted Face feature starts scanning their face automatically in the background as indicated by the face-shaped icon.

Once it finds a match, the lockscreen asks the user to swipe the screen to unlock the device.

The user can always use the regular passcode in the event that the feature cannot read his or her face.

Article Topics

Android  |  biometrics  |  Google  |  smartphones