Google Working on Software Update to Bring Eye Detection to Pixel 4's Face Unlock

Google has said it will release a software update "in the coming months" that will let Pixel 4 owners require their eyes to be open for the phone's Face Unlock security feature to work.

Image via NextRift
The acknowledgement follows last week's discovery that the Pixel 4's facial authentication system isn't currently capable of distinguishing a face with eyes open versus eyes closed. The finding immediately sparked concerns that the phone could be opened by anyone simply by waving it in front of its sleeping / dead owner.

Google's Pixel 4 Face Unlock feature replaces the fingerprint sensor and works similarly to Apple's Face ID, which is found on iPhones and iPads that have a TrueDepth camera system. However, Face ID requires by default that the user's eyes are open, although users can turn off this Attention Aware option in settings.

Previously, Google said that Face Unlock "is designed to get better over time with future software updates," but stopped short of committing to deliver the "Require eyes to be open" toggle that was spotted in pre-launch leaks of the Pixel 4's features. Now though, it wants customers to know that the setting is on its way. The company gave the following statement (via The Verge):

We've been working on an option for users to require 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 concerned that someone may take their phone and try to unlock it while their eyes are closed, they can activate a security feature that requires a pin, pattern or password for the next unlock.

Despite the security implications of Face Unlock working even if your eyes are closed, Google still claims the feature "meets the security requirements as a strong biometric, and can be used for payments and app authentication, including banking apps. It is resilient against invalid unlock attempts via other means, like with masks."

Tags: Google, Google Pixel

Top Rated Comments

(View all)

christarp

4 weeks ago

It's been 2 years and companies are still messing up details Apple nailed down in the first introduction. Crazy to me.

Rating: 23 Votes

Abazigal

4 weeks ago

It’s funny. Every time the pundits claim that Apple is doomed because it’s supposedly an “off” year, the competition does something to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

Samsung - galaxy fold fiasco and the note missing the headphone jack

Google - pixel lacking 4K video recording, removal of free photo storage, caveats with their version of Face ID, smaller battery and limited storage options (with no expandable storage to boot). This thing couldn’t have held a candle against the original iPhone X, much less this.

Microsoft - surface neo. Are you kidding me? You have lost the moment you went with android.

Meanwhile, Apple manages to update many of the products in their lineup, update multiple OSes near-simultaneously, and launch a bevy of new services this year.

And people can still claim that Apple is no longer innovating? [emoji854]

Rating: 12 Votes

StellarVixen

4 weeks ago

“In the coming months...”

Please, iOS, NEVER cease to exist. Never!

Rating: 8 Votes

keysofanxiety

4 weeks ago

Time is always the best judge for technology. With all the hurdles competitors have encountered that Apple had already ironed in the first iteration, I think it’s fair to say that Face ID is extremely advanced.

Rating: 8 Votes

StellarVixen

4 weeks ago

It's been 2 years and companies are still messing up details Apple nailed down in the first introduction. Crazy to me.

It has been said back when iPhone X launched that competition will have no answer for years. Maybe FaceID will be like Taptic Engine. Android phones do not come close to what Apple has.

What is crazy to me is that king of data science and machine learning, Google, cannot develop a working reliable algorithms to detect if eyes are closed or not.

Rating: 8 Votes

BlueCreek

4 weeks ago

Have a iPhone 11, but don’t really see why this is such a big deal - since the main security comes from a 3D map of the face and Google said a patch is coming to cover the attention issue.

Rumors are that Sammy’s S11 will have this (3D Face ID). Be interesting to se how that rolls out as well, if true.

Wouldn’t hold out much hope Samsung’s version of Face ID if the in-display fingerprint reader is anything to go by on the S10, which anyone can unlock using a $1 screen protector.

Rating: 7 Votes

Geert76

4 weeks ago

so for now, the new Pixel 4 is just a beta device

Rating: 7 Votes

jezbd1997

4 weeks ago

It has been said back when iPhone X launched that competition will have no answer for years.

What is crazy to me is that king of data science and machine learning, Google, cannot develop a working reliable algorithms to detect if eyes are closed or not.

On that topic I always roll my eyes when android users comment “we’ve had this for years and it still costs less” yet their features hardly work properly

Rating: 6 Votes

StellarVixen

4 weeks ago

I find it funny how people are up in arms about this situation but have nothing to say about how TouchID works whether the person is alive or dead. If you’re sleeping or passed out you can still unlock the phone in a 1 in 10 chance you picked the right finger, and I bet it’s most likely a thumb.

That was limitation of the technology that couldn’t have been fixed with software. It’s not the same situation, really.

No one made it possible for phone to detect if finger is dead or asleep. This, on other hand, has been shown to be different, Apple has option “Require attention”. So, the problem here is not hardware limitation, but Google’s incompetence.

Rating: 5 Votes

coolfactor

4 weeks ago

Not really the same at all. But nice try.

Rating: 4 Votes

[ Read All Comments ]