Face ID

Face ID
Developer(s)	Apple Inc.
Initial release	November 2017; 7 years ago (2017-11)
Operating system	iPhone: iOS 11 or later iPad: iOS 12 or later
Predecessor	Touch ID (iPhone)
Type	Biometric authentication
License	Proprietary license
Website	support.apple.com/en-us/HT208108

Face ID is a biometric authentication facial-recognition system designed and developed by Apple Inc. for the iPhone and iPad Pro. The system can be used for unlocking a device,^[1] making payments, accessing sensitive data, providing detailed facial expression tracking for Animoji, as well as six degrees of freedom (6DOF) head-tracking, eye-tracking, and other features. Initially released in November 2017 with the iPhone X, it has since been updated and introduced to all iPhones outside of SE models and all iPad Pro models from 2018 onwards.^[2] Users on iOS 18 and newer can choose to lock specific apps, requiring Face ID to access them.^[3]

The Face ID hardware uses a TrueDepth Camera^[2] that consists of a sensor with three modules; a laser^[4] dot projector that projects a grid of small infrared dots onto a user's face, a module called the flood illuminator that shines infrared light at the face, and an infrared camera that takes an infrared picture of the user, reads the resulting pattern, and generates a 3D facial map.

Face ID has sparked a number of debates about security and privacy. Apple claims that Face ID is statistically more advanced than Touch ID fingerprint scanning.^[5] It exhibits significantly fewer false positives. Multiple security features are in place to 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. Hackers have been able to use combinations of FaceID data and SMS messages to enter various locked information on Apple users iPhones protected by FaceID technology. 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. Privacy concerns also exist regarding the use FaceID data to retrieve other personal information stored on Apple technology.^[6] Use of FaceID technology and biometric data in criminal cases as been of much debate due to lack of legal regulation. FaceID has been compared to fingerprint and passcode locking mechanisms to evaluate the ethics behind use of FaceID in criminal cases. Finally, infiltration on Apple products has been a concern of the public as twins and close relatives have been successful in fooling the FaceID technology. Facial replication into realistic masks has been an infiltration concern, but has thus far been unsuccessful.

With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was noted that Face ID was unable to recognize users wearing face coverings on some devices.^[7][8] Apple responded to criticism by offering faster fallback to passcode input, and the option for Apple Watch users to confirm whether they intended to unlock their iPhone.^[9] In March 2022, Apple released iOS 15.4 which adds mask-compatible Face ID for iPhone 12 and later devices.^[10]