The Apple biometric sign-on tool, Face ID, has some advocates and some detractors. To help you decide which camp you’re in, this ebook offers a look at this new way of handling biometric security.

From the ebook:

What is Face ID?
Still unlocking your phone with a fingerprint? How primitive! The modern smartphone user, provided they haves the latest Apple products, is unlocking their device with a glance.

Available on the iPhone X, iPhone Xr, iPhone Xs, iPhone Xs Plus, third-generation iPad Pro, and the iPad Pro 11”, Face ID is Apple’s next-generation biometric system that scans the face instead of a finger.

According to Apple, the likelihood of a random person being able to use their face to unlock someone else’s phone is 1:1,000,000. Touch ID’s odds are 1:50,000, making Face ID 20 times more secure.

While it may be more secure on paper, experience since the release of Face ID in late 2017 has proven otherwise. Proof-of-concept attacks using 3D-printed masks have been successful at cracking Face ID, and children that look similar to their parents, as well as twins, have been able to beat Face ID.

Sure, Face ID can be hacked, but it’s still difficult, and Apple users don’t need to worry about a stranger picking up their phone and cracking Face ID—it takes dedicated technology or a look-alike to put your security at risk.

Those concerned about law enforcement using Face ID to gain access to a secured device don’t need to worry either. A US judge ruled in January 2019 that forcing users to unlock devices using biometric security methods like Face ID violates both the fourth and fifth amendments to the US constitution.