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You should probably turn off the Galaxy S10’s face unlock if you value basic security
June 15, 2025
TheSamsung Galaxy S10series ditched the iris scanner of prior entries in favor of an in-display fingerprint sensor and camera-based face unlock technology. Unfortunately, the latter authentication method seems to be woefully inadequate.
Unbox TherapyandThe Vergewere both able to fool the Galaxy S10 with the aid of a video played back on another phone,Android Policereported. Skip to the two-minute mark in the Unbox Therapy video below to watch the trick in action.
It’s unclear whether these outlets disabled the faster recognition option, which boosts unlock speeds at the expense of security. However, tech websiteSmartWorldtoldAndroid Policethat they disabled the feature when they successfully unlocked the Galaxy S10 with a photo.
The face unlock errors don’t stop here though, as app developer and teardown specialist Jane Wong was able to unlock her brother’s Galaxy S10 Plus. This isn’t the first time a phonemistook someone elsefor its owner, and manufacturers usually warn users about the perils of using camera-based face unlock. But with the Samsung flagship being fooled by photos and videos too, it’s not a good look at all.
Camera-based face unlock features have a history of problematic security, going back toAndroid 4.0 Face Unlockback in 2011. Back then, people demonstrated that the technology could be fooled with a simple photo. Google’s later attempt to implement a liveness check (i.e. blinking) wascircumvented by photo editing.
Face unlock usingstructured lightortime-of-flightsensors has since become the preferred authentication method for several flagships. These solutions are able to calculate facial details and contours, largely negating photo and video spoofing. So if you want more secure face unlock on a smartphone, consider theLG G8 ThinQ,HUAWEI Mate 20 Pro, orOPPO Find X.
In saying so, Samsung’s older flagships don’t fall for the old photo trick, according to a test by the Dutch Consumentenbond organization. The consumer watchdogfoundthat over 30 models from the likes ofAlcatel,BlackBerry,Huawei,Samsung, andSonycould be unlocked with a photo. But the Galaxy S9,Galaxy S9 Plus, andGalaxy Note 9emerged unscathed. However, we don’t know if Samsung’s face unlock was aided by its iris scanning function as part of its intelligent scan feature.
NEXT:Android isn’t perfect — 5 improvements we’d like to see from Google
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