Is facial recognition better and safer than fingerprint biometrics?

Living in an age when technology is progressing at lightspeed, it’s vital to keep all of your security systems in-check. Fingerprint software has steadily provided the world with decent security for over half a decade; however, it cannot offer full protection from potential hacker attacks these days.
Combining familiar fingerprints with an advanced facial recognition feature was a huge breakthrough for the tech world in terms of safety. Which is better at keeping your secrets shut still remains a big question.
Face Recognition: Pros and Cons
Fingerprint Recognition: Pros and Cons
Face ID vs. Touch ID
Biometric Data Collection
Data Storage
Hygiene
Affordability
Remote Verification
Ease of Use
Is Face ID Secure
Future Development
FAQ
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Face Recognition: Pros and Cons
After the world welcomed the facial ID feature, the fingerprint scanner has almost lost all of its relevance. It also opened up a world of possibilities for more sleek, elegant design solutions that feel more natural for users to apply. Read more about the undeniable benefits of facial recognition software below.
- Major security. Only your face is able to unlock the device.
- Convenience and simplicity. Compared to the fingerprint biometric, it is much more inclusive, making it effortless for everybody to access their tech. It doesn’t require specific actions to unlock the gadget, which is absolutely amazing for customers with any kind of disabilities.
- Enhance the organization of photographs. Face recognition technology also provides tagging for photos in customers' cloud storage. This makes markering, arranging, searching, and sharing the pictures far easier for the users.
Either way, keep in mind that even this seemingly ideal technology has several cons:
- Access to sensitive data. Recording and scanning with face recognition technology can make people feel like they are being constantly monitored and analyzed. Moreover, with facial recognition, the police can immediately reach any person through the database. In addition, countries with limited personal freedom tend to use facial recognition technologies to spy on citizens and arrest those they perceive as intruders.
- Privacy matters. Lots of individuals believe that technology can be a threat to their privacy. These concerns are based on the recognition process: to deliver a smooth technology experience, users should put their faces close to the gadget to unlock it properly. Therefore, the phone camera can be randomly activated when the person just moves in a specific way.
- Technology has its limits. Sometimes even the best of systems can have a glitch. Facial recognition is affected by lighting, makeup, and even sometimes by the user’s natural skin tone.
Fingerprint Recognition: Pros and Cons
Since being introduced by major tech companies over five years ago, fingerprint systems have taken over the whole world. Just like any other software, it has both upsides and downsides, let’s take a look at them.
- Accuracy. To this day, fingerprint recognition remains the most specific when it comes to verifying the user’s identity.
- Affordability. The technology is affordable, quite simple to use, and enforce. It is used in authentication and access processes in lots of types of electronics, from home appliances to state security systems.
- Secure. Every human in the world has different features, but nothing varies more than a fingerprint pattern. It is hard to recreate, rendering this method one of the safest systems.
On the downside, fingerprint biometrics have a few points you should consider.
- Hygiene. After constantly using a fingerprint scanner and putting the device close
to the face or anywhere near it, customers risk spreading unwanted bacteria around, which doesn’t seem pleasing at all. - Physical sensor disadvantages. Customers need to make clean contact with the fingerprint sensor. Therefore, once the finger is dirty, wet, or covered with gloves, the technology will not work properly. Moreover, sometimes the scanner size may not fit the user’s fingers, which makes it uncomfortable to reach the sensor every time.
Face ID vs. Touch ID
When something new comes to take the place of a well-known feature, it’s best to educate yourself thoroughly to form a proper opinion. Here are some points for you to consider:
Biometric Data Collection
Considering fingerprints have been around a while longer than Face ID, it is unquestionably more precise in terms of data collection and verification. It is also more convenient for identification uses, as fingerprints are completely unique to each person. Face recognition accuracy and quality improve over time.
Data Storage
Contrary to popular fears, faceprints, as well as fingerprints, are stored directly on your device in a special enclave. Scans do not go into your cloud storage or anywhere else.
Hygiene
Bearing in mind the current world situation, the less users touch their belongings, the safer they are. Face ID is definitely the cleaner and more hygienic option since it allows users to arrange remote verification and device controlling, especially if customers use wireless headphones to access the applications.
Affordability
Today, fingerprint technology seems to be more cost-effective. Although in the long run, facial verification software can finally allow smaller companies to cut back on spending a fortune on various hardware and special parts for devices. In the future, most smartphones with front cameras will support this technology, making the developer’s job ten times easier.
Remote Verification
Sometimes accessing the device can be tough. If the situation presents itself and the customer needs to unlock the phone, tablet, etc., a facial verification system will allow them to do so. Simple showing the face before the camera and face ID scanners will take care of the rest.
Ease of Use
Facial verification can help the thought process behind unlocking the devices so that they vanish entirely. Once users are accustomed to the technology, they can pick up the phone and start using it right away. While touch ID can be painful to use at times, especially when one comes across a dirty sensor, heat, cold, and other pesky factors.
Is Face ID Secure
Given we are all unique, it’s hard to find another person with similar features that would match your digital print. Chances are small but are never zero, which makes it easier to hack your device if needed. On the other hand, your fingerprint is absolutely inimitable. So, compared to Face ID, a fingerprint sensor still deems more trustworthy than a faceprint.
Today users can definitely mix various verification systems to provide bulletproof security, besides, using multi-factor authentication has proven to be the best option to keep user accounts and devices safe.
Future Development
Biometrics is arguably the most secure data collection and verification technology. Many are used to fingerprint, and facial software is still around. It’s time to take a look at a few other trends that are growing in popularity.
- Iris Scan. This may well become a breakthrough in digital security. The process involves the iris getting scanned and then converted into a digital barcode that is stored in the system. However, currently, it is rather uncomfortable for individuals to perform, hence it may take some time to make this feature user-friendly. Once fully explored, this technology may well become a successor to the Face ID feature due to its absolute security and some similarity to the former method.
- Finger and Palm Vein Recognition. Both software programs rely on scanning individual vein patterns, which later become encrypted in a digital signature or code. Everyone has a particular vein pattern outline, which is hard to replicate. These systems sit among the most secure methods that could become our new normal in the future.
On the downside, both technologies still require more study and seem to be the most expensive of all at the moment.
FAQ
What is facial recognition?
Facial Recognition or Face ID is a software created to safely verify identity through an image, video, or a 3D-printed copy of a person’s face.
How does face recognition work?
To perform a face scan, all you need is a camera and scanning software. Depending on the quality of your device, it will either collect information from a video/photo and convert it into a digital code, or you will need to take some photos on the spot. Those are later stored on your device for identification.
What type of biometric is the most accurate?
Currently, fingerprint technology is the most accurate biometric recognition system, with Face ID following right after. Fingerprints allow you to properly capture all necessary data for effortless identification.
Is biometrics a facial recognition?
Facial recognition does belong to biometrics, but they are not the same. Biometrics is a combination of human measurements, which are used for identification and verification in medicine, computer science, and digital technology.
What is the advantage of using fingerprint recognition?
Fingerprint recognition is capable of better and more secure data collection. To this day, it remains the most accurate biometrics system to identify individuals and keep your data protected.
What countries use facial recognition?
Around 160 countries in total use Face ID. Among these are the USA, China, the UAE, Brazil, Japan, and Australia.