Face ID is the newest form of biometric security on Apple’s mobile devices. Until now, the technology has only been implemented in Apple’s 10th Anniversary flagship phone: the iPhone X, which marked the biggest redesign of the iPhone since its inception in 2007. Among the many new features on the device, the most radical change of all was the elimination of the iPhone’s iconic home button, which since 2013 had housed the Touch ID fingerprint sensor that has come to be the mainstream method of unlocking and authenticating purchases on the iPhone. With the goal of creating a phone that was “all screen” (Apple Special Event Sept, 2017), Apple replaced the fingerprint recognition hardware with the less-intrusive facial recognition hardware, dubbed Face ID.
Face ID works very simply. When triggered, a dot projector projects over 30,000 invisible dots onto the user’s face, which are then read by an infrared camera, which then sends the data to a Secure Enclave in Apple’s A11 Bionic Chip to verify a facial match. The built in flood illuminator also projects infrared light to enable the system to work even in the dark. All of this happens within just a couple of seconds, enabling a user to unlock their cell phone almost instantaneously. Face ID not only has the ability to recognize a face when it’s programmed, but it can also recognize that same face as it changes over time. So whether or not a user gets glasses, grows a beard, or puts on a hat, the Face ID system can still recognize them. All of that machine learning is powered by a neural engine built directly into the A11 Bionic Chip. This separate engine powers all of Face ID’s machine learning, and has the potential to power many other complex functions for technology in the future.
In response to this new Face ID technology, there have of course been many people who are wary of the security of this new technology. Among the expressed concerns are the issues of using pictures to unlock somebody’s phone, the ability of twins to unlock the phone of their sibling, and the ability of law enforcement to force a suspect to unlock their phone with their face to potentially reveal condemning evidence. Apple has responded to most of these issues, presenting an extensive process they went through in order to make Face ID impervious to any 2D image, as well as very high-quality masks that could be made in order to gain access. With regards to the privacy issue and law enforcement, all that is really known is that Apple fights very hard to protect the privacy of its customers, even from law enforcement. (See justice article below)
Soon after the announcement of the iPhone X, Senator Al Franken sent a letter to Apple with several questions that he raised in response to the Face ID feature on the new iPhone. Apple responded to most of his questions by referring him to their previously released document outlining the security features of the new product. On top of that, they also summarized how the face data is stored, saying “Face ID data, including mathematical representations of your face, is encrypted and only available to the Secure Enclave. This data never leaves the device. It is not sent to Apple, nor is it included in device backups. Face images captured during normal unlock operations aren’t saved, but are instead immediately discarded once the mathematical representation is calculated for comparison to the enrolled Face ID data.” This put to rest a great deal of concerns with regards to the use of face data as a form of unlocking a phone. (See Franken Article Below)
The biggest question with regards to the use of Face ID on iPhones was this: How does it stack up against Touch ID, the fingerprint reader that has been the standard of biometric security since its introduction in 2013? With the removal of the home button, Touch ID is no longer an option for unlocking your phone if you’ve upgraded to the iPhone X, with Face ID being the only option. The difference between the two is quite obvious, but overall, both have proven to be as secure and usable as the other. It really comes down to a matter of preference, as both systems have proven to be very accurate, secure, and user friendly.
Face ID technology is very new, and hasn’t quite met all of its potential as of yet. Some future uses of the tech include heightened face-tracking technology for apps like Snapchat, etc. Also it can be used for its depth sensing capabilities in other functions. Overall, the tech is still new, but has shown immense promise for the years to come.
Face ID works very simply. When triggered, a dot projector projects over 30,000 invisible dots onto the user’s face, which are then read by an infrared camera, which then sends the data to a Secure Enclave in Apple’s A11 Bionic Chip to verify a facial match. The built in flood illuminator also projects infrared light to enable the system to work even in the dark. All of this happens within just a couple of seconds, enabling a user to unlock their cell phone almost instantaneously.
Face ID not only has the ability to recognize a face when it’s programmed, but it can also recognize that same face as it changes over time. So whether or not a user gets glasses, grows a beard, or puts on a hat, the Face ID system can still recognize them. All of that machine learning is powered by a neural engine built directly into the A11 Bionic Chip. This separate engine powers all of Face ID’s machine learning, and has the potential to power many other complex functions for technology in the future.
In response to this new Face ID technology, there have of course been many people who are wary of the security of this new technology. Among the expressed concerns are the issues of using pictures to unlock somebody’s phone, the ability of twins to unlock the phone of their sibling, and the ability of law enforcement to force a suspect to unlock their phone with their face to potentially reveal condemning evidence. Apple has responded to most of these issues, presenting an extensive process they went through in order to make Face ID impervious to any 2D image, as well as very high-quality masks that could be made in order to gain access. With regards to the privacy issue and law enforcement, all that is really known is that Apple fights very hard to protect the privacy of its customers, even from law enforcement. (See justice article below)
Soon after the announcement of the iPhone X, Senator Al Franken sent a letter to Apple with several questions that he raised in response to the Face ID feature on the new iPhone. Apple responded to most of his questions by referring him to their previously released document outlining the security features of the new product. On top of that, they also summarized how the face data is stored, saying “Face ID data, including mathematical representations of your face, is encrypted and only available to the Secure Enclave. This data never leaves the device. It is not sent to Apple, nor is it included in device backups. Face images captured during normal unlock operations aren’t saved, but are instead immediately discarded once the mathematical representation is calculated for comparison to the enrolled Face ID data.” This put to rest a great deal of concerns with regards to the use of face data as a form of unlocking a phone. (See Franken Article Below)
The biggest question with regards to the use of Face ID on iPhones was this: How does it stack up against Touch ID, the fingerprint reader that has been the standard of biometric security since its introduction in 2013? With the removal of the home button, Touch ID is no longer an option for unlocking your phone if you’ve upgraded to the iPhone X, with Face ID being the only option. The difference between the two is quite obvious, but overall, both have proven to be as secure and usable as the other. It really comes down to a matter of preference, as both systems have proven to be very accurate, secure, and user friendly.
Face ID technology is very new, and hasn’t quite met all of its potential as of yet. Some future uses of the tech include heightened face-tracking technology for apps like Snapchat, etc. Also it can be used for its depth sensing capabilities in other functions. Overall, the tech is still new, but has shown immense promise for the years to come.
https://beta.techcrunch.com/2016/03/28/justice-department-drops-lawsuit-against-apple-over-iphone-unlocking-case/
https://techcrunch.com/2017/10/17/apple-responds-to-senator-frankens-face-id-privacy-concerns/