Why you shouldn’t be worried about iPhone X’s faceID

Apple recently showcased its new flagship phone, the iPhone X, at the newly-constructed Steve Jobs Theater. The latest smartphone comes with complete with edge-to-edge OLED display and a new facial recognition system called the faceID. Apple has removed the touchID saying that faceID will be more secure. The company went as far as saying there’s 1 in a million chance of a passerby on the street gaining access to the iPhone X, compared to 1 in 50,000 with touchID. 

Image source: mshcdn.com

But even with the iPhone X’s high-end TrueDepth Camera System, some people aren’t convinced that faceID is secure enough to replace touchID, remarking that the feature is already available on many Android devices. To be fair though, the facial recognition in Android devices can be fooled with a picture and can’t be used in the dark, which were both overcame by the faceID. Apple even said that it tried to use a - mask used by Hollywood actors to try to fool faceID, and it didn’t work. 

So how secure is faceID? First, it won’t unlock unless you’re looking at it. Second, the TrueDepth Camera System has some advanced technology housed in the notch. Here are the three main technologies that make the TrueDepth Camera system: 

Dot Projector: More than 30,000 invisible dots are projected onto your face to build your unique facial map. 

Infrared Camera: An infrared camera reads the dot pattern, captures an infrared image, then sends the data to the Secure Enclave in the A11 Bionic chip to confirm a match. 

Flood Illuminator: Invisible infrared light helps identify your face even when it’s dark. 

Image source: kinja-img.com

Hi, my name’s James P. DeVellis. I’m a self-confessed IT guy, and that means receiving tons of tech-related questions from family and friends. Visit my blog to see some of them.