Dear Robin,
I just bought a new iphone and it is asking me if I want to use Facial recognition. Is this a good idea or a bad idea?
Vinnie D-N.H.
Dear Vinnie-
This is a great question. I understand that you might be nervous about using it.
Facial recognition is a type of biometric technology that verifies your identity.
For Geeks ONLY.....The iPhone covers your face with infrared (IR) light, invisible to the naked eye, then a dot projector charts 30,000 IR points across your face. The dots create a map of your face, based on area (i.e. size, shape, and distinguishing features) and depth, which is why you need to rotate your face when activating Face ID. The IR camera collects this data and stores it in a Secure Enclave as a 2D image.
(That is way too much information...sorry). In other words.....It is designed to identify you by tracking multiple measurements of your facial features to establish what is unique to you.
It is designed to be a more secure way of accessing your phone as well as other applications and places.
Facial recognition is a way to add an additional layer of security and convenience to your phone and the data that is on your phone. It also uses something called machine learning so that it can learn from your face overtime. This is a hard-to-break-level of security that is designed to keep your iPhone safe.
No one else has exactly your face.....
Most people think the facial recognition is safe to use but there are others that worry about too much data being collected and this is just another piece of the pie.
If you would like to learn more check out the my resources on CyberSafeSenior.com
What is Facial Recognition? (Podcast)
Comments