Facebook Tests Face ID

Facebook is testing out its own version of Apple’s Face ID as a way to verify users’ identities so they can regain access to their accounts.

According to Tech Crunch, this new technology will be useful if a user is somewhere in which he or she cannot receive two-factor authentication SMS, like on a plane or while traveling abroad, or if he or she loses access to the primary email account associated with his or her Facebook login.

“We are testing a new feature for people who want to quickly and easily verify account ownership during the account recovery process,” Facebook said in a news release. “This optional feature is available only on devices you’ve already used to log in. It is another step, alongside two-factor authentication via SMS, that we’re taking to make sure account owners can confirm their identity.”

This is just one of the many ways Facebook has tried to help its users get back into locked accounts. In some cases, the social media site asks users to identify photos of their friends, and has even tested out allowing users to select several “trusted friends” who can receive a code on a user’s behalf. He or she can then ask those friends for the code to unlock the account.

Earlier this year, the social media site unveiled a way its users can recover passwords for other sites through a recovery system called Delegated Recovery. The solution allows users to create encrypted recovery tokens for websites. If the user can’t get into the site, the stored token is sent from the Facebook profile of the user back to the website, proving the user’s identity and unlocking the account.

The facial recognition technology would only be used privately to help a user regain access to his or her account, which should ease any concerns about privacy. If the feature proves helpful and reliable to users and isn’t fooled by hackers, Facebook could potentially roll it out to more people in the future.