Face Unlock Archives

April’s Pixel 4 Update Brings “Require Eyes to be Open” Face Unlock Option

Kellen April 6, 2020

When the Android 11 Developer Preview 2 rolled out a couple of weeks ago to Google's Pixel 4 and included a "Require eyes to be open" feature in Face Unlock for the first time, we wondered if that option would also be included in the April security patch. The...

Android 11 DP2 Brings “Require Eyes to be Open” Setting on Pixel 4 Face Unlock

Kellen March 18, 2020

At launch, the Pixel 4 and its advanced face unlock system had a pretty major security flaw - it could be bypassed even if the face it recorded didn't have its eyes open. Basically, if someone grabbed your phone while you were sleeping and held it up to your...

Google Face Unlock for Pixel 4 Could Soon Require Eyes Open

Kellen March 6, 2020

The Face Unlock feature on Google's Pixel 4 was supposed to be as secure as it gets, in a lot of ways like Apple's. Google put a bunch of super fancy face scanning hardware in the Pixel 4 to make it more than just a front-facing camera powered system. But then...

Oh No: Pixel 4 Owners Getting “Can’t Verify Face” Message

Kellen January 9, 2020

A growing list of Pixel 4 owners are experiencing an issue with the phone's Face Unlock that leaves it unable to verify faces. Since this is the only option for a secure lock on the phone, outside of the old school PIN or password settings, you can imagine how...

Box Adds Itself to Pixel 4’s Small List of Face Unlock Supported Apps

Kellen December 13, 2019

The Pixel 4 has Face Unlock and Face Unlock alone as a biometric security option. It works pretty well as a face-scanning feature, I just wish Google had kept a fingerprint reader as an option, mostly because there are like 2.5 apps that support Face Unlock...

Pixel 4 Owners, You Can Stop Bugging Navy Federal to Support Face Unlock

Tim November 12, 2019

Navy Federal Credit Union is rolling out Face Unlock support for Pixel 4 owners this week, specifically shouting out users in the app update's changelog on Google Play. Pixel 4 owners - this one’s for you! It's been a hard few weeks using your passcode to sign...

Google to Bring Eye Detection to Pixel 4’s Face Unlock in the Coming Months

Tim October 21, 2019

Late last week, we learned that the Pixel 4's new face unlock method works even when a user's eyes are closed. This can be seen as a privacy issue by many, and as it turns out, Google appears to share our concern. Over the weekend, the company has acknowledged...

Android Q Code Points to Native Facial Unlock Feature From Google

Tim January 25, 2019

Remember Face Unlock from Ice Cream Sandwich? There's a screenshot of it above, along with my dog Thor. It was okay as an unlocking method, but not ideal. These days, Google includes Trusted Face on phones, which is part of the Google Play Services package....