Following reports of people discovering a flaw in the Samsung Galaxy S10 and S10+'s face unlock security feature, the tech giant has issued a statement saying users should use the phone's fingerprint reader for "strong security."
In a statement released to TechRadar, the Korean tech giant said face recognition is merely one way to conveniently unlock the Galaxy S10 and S10+, adding that those who want better security for their phones should opt to use the embedded in-display Ultrasonic Fingerprint reader instead.
Samsung says their ultrasonic fingerprint reader has been certified to have vault-like security considered to be the best in biometric security features.
While Samsung's response further emphasized just how secure their new fingerprint reader is, it doesn't do away with the fact that their face recognition technology can't be trusted based on several reports of it being easy to fool.
Recent reports coming from The Verge and Unbox Therapy showed just how easy it is to open a locked Galaxy S10 and S10+ using nothing but a video of the person who owns the phone.
Unbox Therapy's Lewis Hilsenteger noted how the phone that showed his video had fingerprints and smudges on the display, yet still managed to open the Galaxy S10+. He said many people, particularly those who have videos of their faces in different places like social media, will find this rather troubling.
Other reports revealed that the Galaxy S10 and S10+ can be opened even if the person looking in front of the camera is different from the owner.
A Twitter user named Jane Manchun Wong said she could open her brother's new Galaxy S10+ even with her eyes closed. They tried to open it several times, first with his brother's eyes closed; then her face, with eyes open; and lastly with her face, with eyes closed. The phone opened at every attempt.
She posted a photo of them showing just how different they look. Nevertheless, the Galaxy S10+ just can't tell the difference between them.
Another netizen, a redditor who goes by the name perr0, said his friend was able to open his phone right after he lent it to him. Surprised, they thought that maybe the Galaxy smartphone "saw" his face before giving it to his friend. They locked the screen, and this time tried to open it with just his friend's face. It opened.
Perhaps, until they find a way to fix the face recognition problem coming with their new flagship, Samsung will just have to convince people to use the phone's ultrasonic fingerprint sensor as the main security tool.
