face unlock - Android Community

Google Face Unlock patent adds facial expressions to Android security

By Cory Gunther
on 7 Jun, 2013

The ongoing debate about how secure and realistic face unlock is on Android is still a hotly discussed topic. However, Google is exploring new and improved systems that could help improve the security as we unlock our smartphones and tablets. The easy to fool (with a picture) Face Unlock feature could soon be getting facial features and expressions to help bolster the security method.

Google granted patent for Face Unlock features in Android

By Cory Gunther
on 12 Mar, 2013

Today we can chalk up another win for Google from the patent department. According to reports the US Patent and Trademark Office has just granted Google the patent for facial recognition in Android. The impressive feature arrived with the Galaxy Nexus and Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, and today they now have a few full patents on the security option.

Jelly Bean brings “Liveness” to Face Unlock – Requires a blink

By Cory Gunther
on 29 Jun, 2012

Google's Face Unlock feature was met with tons of praise last year when announced along side the Galaxy Nexus and Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, but at the same time it was met with a lot of criticism for being easily bypassed or hacked. Simply use a photo of of the face and it would work, making it not too secure. With Jelly Bean they've taken it a few steps further.

ASUS Transformer TF101 update rolling out with Face Unlock

By Cory Gunther
on 16 May, 2012

The folks over at ASUS are pushing out another minor update for their popular NVIDIA powered Eee Pad Transformer tablet. It's seen more updates than most tablet around but they are all quite small. Today's however brings a few more needed bug fixes, as well as Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich's popular face unlock feature.

Ice Cream Sandwich Face Unlock has issues with dark skin tones

By Michael Crider
on 26 Jan, 2012

One of the myriad new features in Ice Cream Sandwich that got people really excited about Android 4.0 was Face Unlock, an alternative to sliding, PIN or pattern-based screen unlocks that uses a forward-facing camera to literally recognize the user's face. Upon actual use, however, it's clear that the technology isn't quite as fleshed out as it could be: frequent errors necessitate a backup system for most users. Apparently some users in particular are having trouble: a Reddit user identifying himself as a black man said that he has consistent issues with Face Unlock not recognizing him. His problems are echoed by other users throughout the thread.

Apple applies for “Face and Presence Detection” patent — Android laughs

By Cory Gunther
on 29 Dec, 2011

I'm not really sure where to start on this one other than oh wait -- Android already has the feature. It's called "Face Unlock" and is available on the Samsung Galaxy Nexus within Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. Just like our friendly source over at Phandroid I don't really want to simply sit here and bash Apple but I can't help but do so a little bit with this latest "innovation" and patent they've applied for.