Face ID is also fully encrypted and 100% local, plus scans in 3D to be a lot more secure. I meme on Apple a lot but it’s genuinely one of the best features I’ve seen on any phone, period - fast, instant, secure, and private access to your shit. Third party apps can use it similarly to PAM in Linux, where they only get the Boolean result and no data about your biometrics, and the decryption key is stored in some apple-specific chip that’s only accessible at the root level iirc. I’d literally sell my soul to get them to open source Face ID; I haven’t seen another implementation yet that’s as good and even on Linux with a beefy-ass gpu I can’t replicate the wake/unlock speed even old iPhones can manage in my own algorithms. It works with sunglasses on, different facial expressions, while brushing your teeth - the fuckin thing even recognizes when you’re looking at the screen vs when someone’s just pointing your phone at your face. I’ve literally tested it with someone else holding my phone towards my face trying to get Face ID to let them in, and as long as I don’t glance at it (with my pupils alone, no head movement) it won’t let them in. Before it ever got to that point anyway, you can just press power+volume up while the phone’s locked to disable biometrics and require a passcode - this is one feature that’s seriously well thought out for privacy. My trust does not come easily to closed-source for-profit companies’ “privacy” features, but this isn’t your usual google or Microsoft bullshit that’s a thinly veiled attempt to get more of your data. I dislike apple’s walled garden bullshit, but I gotta admit it lets them focus on making baller features like this one instead of needing to steal data or show ads in all their shit like Samsung or google.
Anyway there’s like a million valid things to shit on apple for, just pointing out that this isn’t one of them lol. Promise I’m not a shill (I’m just as likely to do a rant hating on their bullshit as I am to defend them), I’m just way too passionate about Face ID. Obligatory source on the privacy aspects
Face ID is also fully encrypted and 100% local, plus scans in 3D to be a lot more secure. I meme on Apple a lot but it’s genuinely one of the best features I’ve seen on any phone, period - fast, instant, secure, and private access to your shit. Third party apps can use it similarly to PAM in Linux, where they only get the Boolean result and no data about your biometrics, and the decryption key is stored in some apple-specific chip that’s only accessible at the root level iirc. I’d literally sell my soul to get them to open source Face ID; I haven’t seen another implementation yet that’s as good and even on Linux with a beefy-ass gpu I can’t replicate the wake/unlock speed even old iPhones can manage in my own algorithms. It works with sunglasses on, different facial expressions, while brushing your teeth - the fuckin thing even recognizes when you’re looking at the screen vs when someone’s just pointing your phone at your face. I’ve literally tested it with someone else holding my phone towards my face trying to get Face ID to let them in, and as long as I don’t glance at it (with my pupils alone, no head movement) it won’t let them in. Before it ever got to that point anyway, you can just press power+volume up while the phone’s locked to disable biometrics and require a passcode - this is one feature that’s seriously well thought out for privacy. My trust does not come easily to closed-source for-profit companies’ “privacy” features, but this isn’t your usual google or Microsoft bullshit that’s a thinly veiled attempt to get more of your data. I dislike apple’s walled garden bullshit, but I gotta admit it lets them focus on making baller features like this one instead of needing to steal data or show ads in all their shit like Samsung or google.
Anyway there’s like a million valid things to shit on apple for, just pointing out that this isn’t one of them lol. Promise I’m not a shill (I’m just as likely to do a rant hating on their bullshit as I am to defend them), I’m just way too passionate about Face ID.
Obligatory source on the privacy aspects
I am in the same boat when it comes to corporations and their walled gardens though it is always good to give credit when credit is due.
Its good that it can tell the difference between someone looking at the screen vs someone pointing it at your face. Also the timing is a bit of a coincidence since I just saw what microsoft are planning. https://web.archive.org/web/20240520230534/https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/05/microsofts-new-recall-feature-will-record-everything-you-do-on-your-pc/