Samsung's Galaxy S8 facial recognition feature can be fooled with a photo
Antonio Villas-Boas/Business Insider
The Samsung Galaxy S8, which launches April 28, has a new facial recognition feature that lets you unlock the phone just by looking into the front-facing camera. In a brief demo given to Business Insider last week, it was actually faster than using a fingerprint.
But it's not a secure way to lock your phone, as the folks at iDeviceHelp discovered this week.
In a demo, which we first saw on The Verge, iDeviceHelp was able to fool the facial recognition feature with a photo. It took a little longer than normal for the S8 to register the photo, but it worked.
Samsung did say the facial recognition feature isn't as secure as a fingerprint or the new iris scanner, but the fact that it's still an option to lock your phone when it can easily be tricked is a bad move. Plus, there's better technology already available that lets you unlock a device with your face, like Windows Hello, which uses special sensors to analyze the contours of your face. It's so accurate that it can even tell identical twins apart.
Our advice: If you get the Galaxy S8, don't use the facial recognition feature to lock your phone. Use a PIN, fingerprint, or the iris scanner instead.
And Samsung should stop touting facial recognition as a way to lock your phone.
Here's a video of iDeviceHelp tricking the Galaxy S8 with a photo:
- I spent $2,000 for 7 nights in a 179-square-foot room on one of the world's largest cruise ships. Take a look inside my cabin.
- Colon cancer rates are rising in young people. If you have two symptoms you should get a colonoscopy, a GI oncologist says.
- Saudi Arabia wants China to help fund its struggling $500 billion Neom megaproject. Investors may not be too excited.
- Catan adds climate change to the latest edition of the world-famous board game
- Tired of blatant misinformation in the media? This video game can help you and your family fight fake news!
- Tired of blatant misinformation in the media? This video game can help you and your family fight fake news!
- JNK India IPO allotment – How to check allotment, GMP, listing date and more
- Indian Army unveils selfie point at Hombotingla Pass ahead of 25th anniversary of Kargil Vijay Diwas