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Comment by smt88 | Hacker News Reader

Not on iOS or Android phones. On most recent phones, they're both.

Which is why I will never enable fingerprint or face unlocking ever. I'm fine with physically typing in my password. I like real security.

I have an iPhone with Face ID and an 8 digit passcode. If I were to be arrested or whatever, all I need to do is press the power button 5 times in quick succession and Face ID is disabled and my passcode is required.

So I can choose:

- Unlock my phone with ease for 10’s of years and then quickly lock it once - Struggle to unlock it for 10’s of years to avoid having to quickly lock it once

Rebooting does that by default on android: it always requires your pin. No need to remember to press the x button n times. Just shut it down.

A good habit anyway: you don't want them to be able to poke the ram.

Rebooting resets the passcode requirement on iOS as well.

If they tell you to unlock it but you 5 tap instead, then it wouldn't surprise me if it counts as obstructing justice.

You'd need to do it quickly before the cuffs come on. And make sure the officer doesn't mistake you reaching for your pocket as you grabbing your gun.

If you enable voice control in accessibility you can reboot the device using a voice command “reboot this device”.

After which you will need your passcode/word to unlock the device. Handy if you foresee a time you won’t be able to reach your device and tap the unlock button 5 times.

Physically typing in a passcode is less secure that you think given the wide range of cameras everywhere. All I have to do is observe you entering it once with a camera (likely from any angle where your movements are visible) and your security now belongs to me. FaceID cannot be recorded in any way. Of course you have to occasionally enter the PIN so it's still not perfect.

For the average user whose password is 0000, maybe face unlocking IS more secure for them.

unfortunately for that user, face unlock doesn’t disable passcode unlock

Not really both. If anything, they are a temporary quick-unlock key. After a restart, before an extra-sensitive operation, and also after a certain amount of time/unlocks you can’t use your fingerprint to unlock things anymore and need to use your normal passcode/pattern.

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