Face ID is a facial recognition system designed
and developed by Apple Inc. for the iPhone (X,
XR, XS & XS Max) and iPad Pro (third generation). The successor to Touch ID,
the system allows bio-metric authentication for unlocking a device,
making payments,
and accessing sensitive data, as well as providing detailed facial expression tracking for
Animoji and other features. Initially released in November 2017 with the iPhone X,
it has since been updated and introduced to all new iPhone and iPad Pro models.
The Face
ID hardware consists of a sensor with three modules; one projects a grid of
small infrared dots
onto a user's face whose name is dot projector, the other module called the
flood illuminator reads the resulting pattern and generates a 3D facial map,
and the third one is the infrared camera which takes an infrared picture of the
user. This map is compared with the registered face using a secure subsystem,
and the user is authenticated if the two faces match sufficiently. The system
can recognize faces with glasses, clothing, makeup, and facial hair, and adapts
to changes in appearance over time.
Face ID
has sparked a number of debates about security and privacy. Apple claims it is
significantly more advanced than Touch ID and has far fewer false positives in
general, though Face ID has shown mixed results when trying to separate
identical twins. Multiple security features largely limit the risk of the
system being bypassed using photos or masks, and only one proof-of-concept
attempt using detailed scans has succeeded. Debate continues over the lack of
legal protections offered by biometric systems as compared to passcode
authentication in the United States. Privacy advocates have also expressed
concern about third-party app developers' access to "rough maps" of
user facial data, despite rigid requirements by Apple of how developers handle
facial data.
