Tech NewsPrivacy & Security

Researchers Say They Tricked Apple’s FaceID by Putting Taped Glasses on Unconscious People

Researchers presenting at the Black Hat security conference in Las Vegas this week demonstrated a relatively simple way to break into someone’s iPhone Face ID—so long as they’re completely conked out. On Wednesday, a research team from Tencent showed their biometric bypass technique to conference attendees, according to a report from Threatpost. In order to … Continued

Tech News

Touch ID Will Reportedly Return to iPhones in 2021 With Apple’s New In-Screen Fingerprint Sensor

As impressive as Apple’s FaceID tech is, when it was first introduced on the iPhone X in 2017, many still maligned the loss of Touch ID, a feature that hasn’t been included on any new iPhones over the past two years. However, according to a new report from one of the world’s most well-respected Apple … Continued

Tech NewsPrivacy & Security

We Don’t Need to ‘Pause’ Police Use of Face Recognition—We Need to Ban It Forever

Facial recognition experts called to testify before a congressional hearing on Wednesday found themselves in broad agreement: Citing a litany of abuses, each pressed federal lawmakers to respond to the widespread, unregulated use of the technology by law enforcement at every level across the country. However, the idea that we should simply ban police from … Continued

Tech NewsPrivacy & Security

Researcher Who Said He Hacked iPhone X Face ID With a Printed Image Cancels Talk After Employer Shaming

Attendees of a major hacking conference in Singapore were supposed to hear about a mysterious, new method of hacking Apple’s Face ID, but the presenter scheduled to talk on the matter has withdrawn from the event after his employer asked him to cancel, according to Reuters. Apple debuted Face ID in September 2017 with the … Continued

Tech NewsPrivacy & Security

FBI Makes Child Porn Suspect Unlock iPhone X Using His Face 

In August, federal agents in Ohio made a suspect unlock his iPhone X using his face, in what may be the first instance of law enforcement using such a tactic. Forbes reports that a child pornography investigation led the FBI to the home of Grant Michalski, 28, in Columbus, Ohio, where agents searched the house. … Continued

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Report: Apple Probably Won’t Launch iPhones With an In-Display Version of Touch ID Anytime Soon

Liked Touch ID, or just plain don’t like unlocking your phone with your face? Too bad, unless you’re an Android person. Apple is likely planning on foregoing an in-display Touch ID fingerprint sensor for phones launched in 2018-2019 altogether in favor of the Face ID system introduced in the iPhone X, 9to5Mac writes, citing an … Continued

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Here Are the Coolest Features in iOS 12

At WWDC Apple debuted the next version of its iOS operating system, iOS 12. After dealing with issue after issue in iOS 11 for the past year, the company’s shied away from a visual overhaul, opting to fix what ails the OS and add some features that, while not revolutionary, are welcome additions to iOS … Continued

Tech News

Future iPhones Could Scan the Veins Beneath Your Face, Apple Patent Suggests

Apple has been granted a patent, first filed in 2015, that could lead to huge enhancements in the iPhone’s biometric powers by using “pulsed radiation” to peer into users’ veins. A relatively recent wave of similar patents could point to a new sub-dermal standard in future generations of smartphones and wearables. Spotted by Apple Insider, … Continued

Tech NewsGadgets

What’s It Gonna Take For Someone to Give Me This Slick In-Display Fingerprint Reader

Synaptics’s Clear ID sensor is not the first sensor to scan your thumb print through a display. The Vivo X20 phone, available now in China, is not the first phone to read your thumb through the screen. You might not know this if you’d seen the headlines coming out of CES—where Synaptic’s Clear ID was … Continued

Tech News

Face ID Is Unstoppable

It sucks when a new technology comes along and creeps everybody out. It sucks even more when that technology is so good, so life-changing that even the most discerning consumer sets that anxiety aside and says, “Who cares if Apple owns detailed biometric data about my face?” That’s what Face ID has done to me … Continued

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iPhone X’s Face ID Can’t Be Used to Verify Family Transactions

Many iPhone X users have found themselves unable to use Apple’s Face ID to approve family purchases, resulting in them having to enter their passwords manually whenever another user on their account tries to buy something. Per the Verge, the lack of Face ID verification affects all transactions on iOS’ Ask to Buy, the Apple … Continued

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I Just Played a Frogger Ripoff With My Eyebrows

Did you ever play Frogger and think, “this is great with a joystick, but what would really be awesome is if I could just use my face?” No. You did not. That would have felt like a stupid request unless you’re a game developer exploring new modes of input. But don’t worry, developer Nathan Gitter … Continued

Tech NewsSocial Media

Facebook May Soon Demand a Selfie if It Detects Suspicious Activity on Your Account

Facebook appears to be preparing to launch a new kind of captcha which asks users to prove their identities by uploading photos of their faces, Wired reported on Tuesday. At least some users reported encountering a prompt asking them to “upload a photo of yourself that clearly shows your face,” accompanied by a guarantee that … Continued

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Vietnamese Firm Bkav Claims to Have Beaten Apple Face ID With an Elaborate Mask

Apple’s new Face ID security for the iPhone X has sparked a number of concerns, with the biggest being how secure the biometric system really is. The tech giant says that while the facial recognition system is intended for convenience rather than absolute security, it’s less vulnerable than its Touch ID predecessor—though testing has shown … Continued

ReviewsSmartphones

I Hate How Much I Love the iPhone X

I’m a total gadget nerd, and it’s been five years since a new smartphone made me nod to myself with the understanding that, “Yes, I need that thing more than I need air.” But the buzz around the iPhone X has had me a little more hyped than usual. Not just because the iPhone finally … Continued

Tech NewsPrivacy & Security

What’s Really Up With Apple Giving Face Data to Developers?

App developers can access more robust data about your face and the expressions you make with iPhone X, raising concerns from privacy advocates who worry that this sensitive facial data will end up in the hands of advertisers. According to its developer agreement, Apple will grant access to face data if the app maker seeks … Continued

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Watch Me Try to Break Face ID a Bunch of Different Ways

I’ve now had the iPhone X for just 24 hours—the majority of which have been spent trying to break Face ID. For the most part, Face ID has worked as described—opening my phone when I’m sitting in the dark, or wearing a variety of glasses. It works whether my hair is up, down, or in … Continued

Tech NewsPrivacy & Security

Negligent Employees Are Stoked About Facial Recognition

A recent survey shows why corporate password policies are doing very little to stop employees from mishandling their passwords. It also finds most employees favor biometric security and that Apple’s new Face ID feature is widely trusted—even though almost no one has actually used it yet. A new report by Israeli security firm Secret Double … Continued

Tech NewsPrivacy & Security

How Apple Says It Prevented Face ID From Being Racist

When Apple debuted its new facial recognition unlock system, Face ID, in September, the company faced questions about how it would sidestep the security and bias problems that have undermined similar facial recognition systems in the past. Senator Al Franken was one of the many people curious about how exactly how Apple was going to … Continued