The recently launched Google Pixel 8 and 8 Pro claim to have the highest Android biometric standard. This new feature, which provides Face Unlock for payments, has failed, according to a Reddit user.
The Pixel 8 Pro recognized and unlocked the face of the owner’s brother, despite not being registered
The Face Unlock on the Reddit user’s Pixel 8 Pro consistently recognized its sibling, despite the two looking quite different. While Face Unlock was reintroduced with the previous lineup, the new Pixel models rely heavily on machine learning and AI enhancements for authentication.
The affected user speculates that the Pixel 8 Pro could mistakenly identify siblings as twins, even though their father didn’t make a similar mistake. This appears to be an isolated incident, so it’s premature to label it as a major security concern.
Let’s also say that the user didn’t have Extend Unlock enabled, a feature designed to streamline the unlocking process for nearby trusted Pixel devices.
Google’s success in achieving high levels of security with Face Unlock even without specialized hardware is remarkable. However, as previous examples have shown, even systems with specialized hardware, such as Apple’s Face ID, can be fooled under certain circumstances.
Apple acknowledges that siblings or children under the age of 13 are more likely to be accidentally matched due to their developing facial features.
It’s conceivable that the Pixel 8 series could face similar situations, especially given that this incident involved a family member. Still, it’s too early to draw any conclusions. More information may emerge once more people have access to pre-orders of the device.
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