Google made an interesting decision to have face unlock work on the Pixel 4 devices without the users eyes being open. Clearly this opens the potential for people’s phone being accessed by unwanted people.
After the concerns voiced by a lot of users and journalists who have the phone in hand currently, Google have issued a pretty swift response.
The Response
In the short term, using the “Lock down” feature when you long press the power button is the best way they have to circumvent the issue. This requires a pin to be entered before the device will unlock, in a similar way to phones requiring a PIN on boot even if you have fingerprint or face unlock setup.
The statement made to The Verge also details an upcoming fix that will resolve the concerns around security with the current face unlock implementation.
We’ve been working on an option for users to require their eyes to be open to unlock the phone, which will be delivered in a software update in the coming months.
There is a lot of discussion around the decision ultimately being about speed rather than security, but the general feeling is that the implementation didn’t meet market expectations. It is worth remembering that early leaks of the phone showed the option for having eyes open but that obviously was not ready in time for the phone’s launch.
What are your thoughts on face unlock and do you care if it works with eyes closed or open?
I care *IF* having eyes closed significantly reduces its effectiveness. No one seems to have shown that it does.
This report is a real eye opener /s