You may soon be able to lock and unlock your iPhone with your face.
Yesterday (March 31), Apple was awarded a new patent by the United States Patent and Trademark Office that would allow an iPhone or iPad user to lock and unlock the device using facial recognition — i.e., by taking a selfie.
US Patent #008994499 — titled “Locking and Unlocking a Mobile Device Using Facial Recognition” — outlines a number of embodiments for the invention.
In one, an unlocked mobile device is configured to capture images, analyze the images to detect a user’s face, and automatically lock the device if it does not recognize the user. In another embodiment, a locked mobile device is configured to capture an initial image and then another to determine if the device has been moved; if movement is determined, it analyzes the image (at a “use position,” as it is described in the language of the patent) and — if the user is recognized — it unlocks the device.
If applied to an iPhone or iPad, the technology described in the patent would eliminate the need for a passcode or even Touch ID fingerprint recognition to unlock the device. Apple notes in the patent application that the technology could be used to identify not only the primary user of a device but also additional authorized users — family members or friends, for example.
