The first units of the Pixel 4 distributed among members of the press have set off alarm bells among those users who were looking forward to the new Google device. The reason is none other than facial recognition technology, a security system that, for now, seems not to be working as it should.
Unlock the Pixel 4 with your eyes closed
The problem is in the eyes, or rather, how one controls them. Pixel 4. A simple demonstration is enough to confirm that the Pixel 4 facial detection system is currently working as a simple facial detection system like the one we found a few years ago on any phone. The reason? The phone unlocks whether or not we have our eyes open, an issue that would allow someone to unlock the phone if they picked it up and pointed it at our face while we were asleep. Was this called security?
It is true that, thanks to the use of infrared sensors and the technology of 3D face mapping, the Pixel 4 is never going to mistake a photo for a real face, but that it allows unlocking with eyes closed is something we did not expect to see and that reduces the system to a simple and ineffective solution.
In any case, it seems that this lack of ocular implementation must be a matter of lack of time for the development of the function, since Google itself has confirmed to The Verge that the feature will be implemented in the coming months via a system update. This addition could be an adjustment in the system called "require that the eyes be open", a function that has been seen in an image published on the networks and that at the moment does not appear on any of the phones that the company has given to the press. The statement received by The Verge says exactly this:
We are working on an option for users that requires 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 worried someone might pick up their phone and try to unlock it with their eyes closed, they can turn on a security feature that requires a pin, pattern, or password on the next unlock. The Pixel 4's face unlock meets security requirements as a strong biometric, and can be used for payments and app authentication, including banking apps. It is resistant to invalid unlock attempts by other means, such as skins.