Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich looks pretty good. It’s got a bunch of new features, like an updated look, improved notifications and an awesome browser. Oh, and anyone with a picture of your face might be able to unlock your phone. Uh, guys?
The SoyaCincau blog put the new Face Unlock feature of ICS to the test at a recent Samsung event, and it was cracked pretty easily by a picture of the user’s face on another phone. The writer claims that he programmed the lock to recognise his actual face, not the photo on the other phone, and after a few tries, viola — unlocked Galaxy Nexus.
At the time of its announcement, a lot of folks were murmuring that something like this would be possible, but The Next Web notes that Android-focused Developer Advocate Tim Bray settled everyone’s concerns by saying it wouldn’t.
Now, um. We’ll let you know if Google has anything to say about the video; and of course, ICS isn’t even out yet, so there’s still time to patch a fix if something’s amiss. But for the moment, jealous boyfriends and girlfriends everywhere have something to celebrate.
[soyacincuatv via HuffPo, The Next Web]
Travis
Saturday, November 12, 2011 at 10:39 AMThat is a gaping security hole. Nothing that can’t be patched but it’s worse then when you can see streak marks on someones swipe-unlock.
JohnnyP
Saturday, November 12, 2011 at 11:46 AMAnd that’s why it isn’t in ios5. The technology clearly isn’t up to scratch and apple don’t want it
C.S
Saturday, November 12, 2011 at 4:43 PM*cough, cough*
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=NLgQ22naQhE
Lolz
Sunday, November 13, 2011 at 2:49 PMThat’s been patched, sperglord. Nice try though, go find something up to date next time.
Nick
Saturday, November 12, 2011 at 4:51 PMYou can’t patch this shit. You essentially need a depth camera to perceive a human face’s contours.
Even then this system is flawed. What happens in the scenario that there is a depth camera so someone that wanted to break into the phone (and this is an extreme example because there’s easier ways) instead just got a 3D printed bust of some idiots head?
BenDTU
Saturday, November 12, 2011 at 5:40 PMFixed in iOS 5.0.1.
Joel
Saturday, November 12, 2011 at 12:24 PMTrying not to troll here, but this seems like a pointless and unsafe means to lock your phone.
People think using Siri would make you look like a tool, I’m pretty sure holding the phone directly up to your face until it unlocks will make you look worse.
And there will ALWAYS be a way around it. Unless it can see three dimensional space, and even then someone could just do a mock up head I’m sure. I doubt this will ever be safer than a pin number.
My thoughts on the issue, surprise me Google.
Peter
Saturday, November 12, 2011 at 1:51 PMErr, you hold your phone to your face to use it, generally. But yeah, 3D would be the next step in using facial recognition technology, mockups be damned, as to have those kinds of resources, your phone would be hacked anyway. As said below, more useful against randoms than people who have easy access to you
MattD
Saturday, November 12, 2011 at 12:26 PMApple couldn’t code anything this advanced… That’s why they haven’t added it, oh wait ios6 will have it and will be patented and ready to block sales and sue lol
Isaac
Saturday, November 12, 2011 at 3:35 PMYou’re right, they just have the smoothest operating devices around that outshine phones with twice the power they do in benchmarks. Apple must suck at coding. If it was apple with this security flaw you’d be all over it like the irrational hooting fanboy you are.
Linea A
Saturday, November 12, 2011 at 4:35 PMThat was an incredibly stupid remark to make, made even more stupid by the fact that you completely ignored the foolishness of the application in the first place…then again, that’s exactly the sort of person that would be suckered in by face-unlocking. Please continue, good sir.
Josh
Saturday, November 12, 2011 at 1:31 PMTo be honest, people who have access to a photo of you probably aren’t the ones who you are trying to protect your phone from. I know the unlock code for many of my friend’s phones, they don’t care. They have the code so that a random wouldn’t be able to walk up and start using his phone… the same kind of person who is unlikely to know what you look like. If someone went to all the effort to get a photo of you to try this, then they could probably just look over your shoulder when typing in the unlock code.
That said, I can’t imagine using face unlock… having to hold your phone up to your face every time you want to unlock it? Yep, not happening.
Chris
Monday, November 14, 2011 at 10:45 AMhaha, oh yeah, screw having to look at your phone when you are using it, that is totally stupid.
illogical
Saturday, November 12, 2011 at 3:03 PMwhy can’t anyone get the fact that the face unlock is nothing more than a convenience feature. it was never meant to be a security feature.
the use of FaRec tech is just another novelty. don’t start dissing it.
Richard
Saturday, November 12, 2011 at 5:06 PMI would class this as a security feature first and foremost. Not the strongest level of security granted, but it is attempting to authenticate the person using the device against an internal database of recognised users.
If it was for pure convenience they wouldn’t need to match it against a preset user, any face would do. That and a slide to unlock like feature is more convenient (despite the current legal ongoings around that). This is more a replacement for the pattern unlock which in itself isn’t the greatest security measure but a security measure none the less.
JAck
Saturday, November 12, 2011 at 3:17 PMWow Fail!!
Glenn Commons
Saturday, November 12, 2011 at 3:54 PMlol, WHY WOULD ANY OF YOU THINK THIS WOULDN’T WORK?
Your face looks the same as a picture of your face? NO WAY.
It’s a cool feature, but if you are really paranoid about security then set up a number passcode lock, and make sure your Google account has 2-step enabled.
BenDTU
Saturday, November 12, 2011 at 6:37 PMWeird – minutes after the ICS reveal someone claimed they’d done the same, to which Tim Bray, an Android developer responded that it wasn’t possible.
So uh… yeah.
Davud
Sunday, November 13, 2011 at 12:03 AMThere is a app on the android market that does this too. I had it installes for a while on my galaxy s. It has an option to look for blinking.. So people couldnt use the photo trick.
olearymo
Sunday, November 13, 2011 at 12:05 PMuhhhhhhhh, so I’m making a video, uhhhhhhhh, and I’m putting it up, uhhhh, on youtube, uhhhhhhhhhh, and we got a question, uhhhhhhhhhhh, from twitter, uhhhhhhhhhhh, and I uhhh, obviously, uhhh, haven’t even uhhh, bothered to practice, uhhhhhh, making this, uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh video.
Josh
Sunday, November 13, 2011 at 12:27 PMSeems obvious actually. But think about it carefully. You could get your hands on someone’s pin just by watching them input it. So a thief could do that right before stealing your phone. They can’t do that with facial recognition unless they had planned a portrait shot of your face much earlier.
That would make it actually safer than a PIN in this case.
BRAH
Sunday, November 13, 2011 at 1:54 PMCutting edge technology is the basis of Google and Android.
It’s certainly buggy and unrefined, but I would certainly prefer having the privilege to try it than to not have the features at all (looking at you Apple)