Google Working on Software Update to Bring Eye Detection to Pixel 4's Face Unlock

[MacRumors]

Google has said it will release a software update "in the coming months" that will let Pixel 4 owners require their eyes to be open for the phone's Face Unlock security feature to work.

Image via NextRift​

The acknowledgement follows last week's discovery that the Pixel 4's facial authentication system isn't currently capable of distinguishing a face with eyes open versus eyes closed. The finding immediately sparked concerns that the phone could be opened by anyone simply by waving it in front of its sleeping / dead owner.

Google's Pixel 4 Face Unlock feature replaces the fingerprint sensor and works similarly to Apple's Face ID, which is found on iPhones and iPads that have a TrueDepth camera system. However, Face ID requires by default that the user's eyes are open, although users can turn off this Attention Aware option in settings.

Previously, Google said that Face Unlock "is designed to get better over time with future software updates," but stopped short of committing to deliver the "Require eyes to be open" toggle that was spotted in pre-launch leaks of the Pixel 4's features. Now though, it wants customers to know that the setting is on its way. The company gave the following statement (via The Verge):

We've been working on an option for users to require their eyes to be open to unlock the phone, which will be delivered in a software update in the coming months. In the meantime, if any Pixel 4 users are concerned that someone may take their phone and try to unlock it while their eyes are closed, they can activate a security feature that requires a pin, pattern or password for the next unlock.

Despite the security implications of Face Unlock working even if your eyes are closed, Google still claims the feature "meets the security requirements as a strong biometric, and can be used for payments and app authentication, including banking apps. It is resilient against invalid unlock attempts via other means, like with masks."

Article Link: Google Working on Software Update to Bring Eye Detection to Pixel 4's Face Unlock

 

[christarp]

It's been 2 years and companies are still messing up details Apple nailed down in the first introduction. Crazy to me.

 

[Geert76]

so for now, the new Pixel 4 is just a beta device

 

[StellarVixen]

“In the coming months...”




Please, iOS, NEVER cease to exist. Never!

 

[keysofanxiety]

Time is always the best judge for technology. With all the hurdles competitors have encountered that Apple had already ironed in the first iteration, I think it’s fair to say that Face ID is extremely advanced.

 

[StellarVixen]

It's been 2 years and companies are still messing up details Apple nailed down in the first introduction. Crazy to me.

It has been said back when iPhone X launched that competition will have no answer for years. Maybe FaceID will be like Taptic Engine. Android phones do not come close to what Apple has.

What is crazy to me is that king of data science and machine learning, Google, cannot develop a working reliable algorithms to detect if eyes are closed or not.

 

[jezbd1997]

It has been said back when iPhone X launched that competition will have no answer for years.

What is crazy to me is that king of data science and machine learning, Google, cannot develop a working reliable algorithms to detect if eyes are closed or not.

On that topic I always roll my eyes when android users comment “we’ve had this for years and it still costs less” yet their features hardly work properly

 

[Abazigal]

It’s funny. Every time the pundits claim that Apple is doomed because it’s supposedly an “off” year, the competition does something to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

Samsung - galaxy fold fiasco and the note missing the headphone jack

Google - pixel lacking 4K video recording, removal of free photo storage, caveats with their version of Face ID, smaller battery and limited storage options (with no expandable storage to boot). This thing couldn’t have held a candle against the original iPhone X, much less this.

Microsoft - surface neo. Are you kidding me? You have lost the moment you went with android.

Meanwhile, Apple manages to update many of the products in their lineup, update multiple OSes near-simultaneously, and launch a bevy of new services this year.

And people can still claim that Apple is no longer innovating?

 

[GalileoSeven]

I'm all for competition, but Jesus..........this is embarrassing for Google (can't remember when they've been caught this flat footed) 🤣

 

[Sasparilla]

Have a iPhone 11, but don’t really see why this is such a big deal - since the main security comes from a 3D map of the face and Google said a patch is coming to cover the attention issue.

Rumors are that Sammy’s S11 will have this (3D Face ID). Be interesting to se how that rolls out as well, if true.

 

[genovelle]

Have a iPhone 11, but don’t really see why this is such a big deal - since the main security comes from a 3D map of the face and Google said a patch is coming to cover the attention issue.

Rumors are that Sammy’s S11 will have this (3D Face ID). Be interesting to se how that rolls out as well, if true.

Consumers finding out that the feature they promote as their answer to faceID can be unlocked while sleeping or worse knocked out.

 

[BlueCreek]

Have a iPhone 11, but don’t really see why this is such a big deal - since the main security comes from a 3D map of the face and Google said a patch is coming to cover the attention issue.

Rumors are that Sammy’s S11 will have this (3D Face ID). Be interesting to se how that rolls out as well, if true.

Wouldn’t hold out much hope Samsung’s version of Face ID if the in-display fingerprint reader is anything to go by on the S10, which anyone can unlock using a $1 screen protector.

 

[DVNIEL]

I find it funny how people are up in arms about this situation but have nothing to say about how TouchID works whether the person is alive or dead. If you’re sleeping or passed out you can still unlock the phone in a 1 in 10 chance you picked the right finger, and I bet it’s most likely a thumb.

 

[StellarVixen]

I find it funny how people are up in arms about this situation but have nothing to say about how TouchID works whether the person is alive or dead. If you’re sleeping or passed out you can still unlock the phone in a 1 in 10 chance you picked the right finger, and I bet it’s most likely a thumb.

That was limitation of the technology that couldn’t have been fixed with software. It’s not the same situation, really.


No one made it possible for phone to detect if finger is dead or asleep. This, on other hand, has been shown to be different, Apple has option “Require attention”. So, the problem here is not hardware limitation, but Google’s incompetence.

 

[coolfactor]

I find it funny how people are up in arms about this situation but have nothing to say about how TouchID works whether the person is alive or dead. If you’re sleeping or passed out you can still unlock the phone in a 1 in 10 chance you picked the right finger, and I bet it’s most likely a thumb.

Not really the same at all. But nice try.

 

[ftaok]

What is crazy to me is that king of data science and machine learning, Google, cannot develop a working reliable algorithms to detect if eyes are closed or not.

Probably because they couldn't figure out a way to monetize an eye-detection algorithm. So they didn't dedicate resources to developing it.

That's the problem with Google. They make their money by monetizing data. Sometimes it aligns with the user's interests, but often does not.

Apple, OTOH, makes their money by selling you devices (and now maybe shifting to services). They focus on things that enhances the user's experience and more often than not, Apple's monetary goals aligns with the user's interests.

 

[alpi123]

By the time another company comes close to Face ID, Apple would have probably switched to another biometric system, that is yet again, the best among all.

 

[realtuner]

Have a iPhone 11, but don’t really see why this is such a big deal - since the main security comes from a 3D map of the face and Google said a patch is coming to cover the attention issue.

Rumors are that Sammy’s S11 will have this (3D Face ID). Be interesting to se how that rolls out as well, if true.

It’s a big deal because this should have been included in the first place.

Face Unlock in Android Jelly Bean could be fooled with a picture. Google added Liveness Check which required a user blink to prove it’s a person and not a picture.

There’s no way Google didn’t know about the issues surrounding a users eyes and using facial recognition since they specifically dealt with the same issue in the past. And since they likely have iPhones in their lab to test & compare it’s inconceivable that they didn’t know about the attention aware feature.

Missing this is about as stupid as selling a brand new car and forgetting to put in a steering wheel.

 

[DVNIEL]

Not really the same at all. But nice try.

How is it not the same? Someone opening/unlocking your phone without your consent by using your own bodily biometric means. Nice try.

 

[imola.zhp]

I came here for the meme's and I'm disappointed no one has made any yet.

How else can I rub this in my (very few) Android and Pixel friends that refuse to let anything Apple messes up on go. "Oh you can swipe to text now, that's awesome, we've been doing that for years." Same for wireless charging, etc.

 

[sinsin07]

It’s funny. Every time the pundits claim that Apple is doomed because it’s supposedly an “off” year, the competition does something to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

Samsung - galaxy fold fiasco and the note missing the headphone jack

Google - pixel lacking 4K video recording, removal of free photo storage, caveats with their version of Face ID, smaller battery and limited storage options (with no expandable storage to boot). This thing couldn’t have held a candle against the original iPhone X, much less this. ...snip

Yeah, it's real funny, or maybe not so funny to Pixel owners:
Google will pay more for a used iPhone than it will for it's on Pixel:
Google just accidentally admitted that iPhones are more valuable than Pixels

"If you happen to own a 128GB Pixel 3 XL, which sold for $999 originally, you’ll get back $295, assuming it’s in good working condition and the screen isn’t cracked, according to Android Central. The massive drop in value shouldn’t be surprising for an Android phone. That’s what happens, especially for a one-year-old Pixel phone.

But Google will simultaneously award $395 for the two-year-old iPhone X, and $600 for the iPhone XS Max, which launched last year, just a few weeks before the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL."

Yep, Pixel is great value /s.

 

[@meinertzhagen]

It is scary ... Eye detection wasn't a requirement from the get-go?

 

[sinsin07]

How is it not the same? ...snip

Phone released with half baked security feature that has to be patched "snip... in a software update in the coming months".

Google had years since Face ID release to get this right, but since eyeballs on ads are all they are interested in, Google's attitude is who gives a ... .

Is that clear enough now.

 

[DVNIEL]

Phone released with half baked security feature that has to be patched "snip... in a software update in the coming months".

Google had years since Face ID release to get this right, but since eyeballs on ads are all they are interested in, Google's attitude is who gives a ... .

Is that clear enough now.

I think we’re speaking of differences in different realms.Yes there is a difference between the technology.

The difference I was alluding to was the legal aspect that people didn’t make so much of a stink that taking the fingerprint of someone sleeping or passed out to bypass their TouchID is just as bad.

 

[cbaca51]

It has been said back when iPhone X launched that competition will have no answer for years. Maybe FaceID will be like Taptic Engine. Android phones do not come close to what Apple has.

What is crazy to me is that king of data science and machine learning, Google, cannot develop a working reliable algorithms to detect if eyes are closed or not.

this

I remember back when the X came out and I read so many articles saying it would be years before other companies caught up to Face ID...... 2 years later..... I guess those articles were in fact correct