this post was submitted on 02 Aug 2026
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Cybersecurity

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[–] unknownuserunknownlocation@kbin.earth 12 points 22 hours ago (4 children)

Hot take: biometrics are often criticized for being less secure, but that ignores the deficiencies of passwords. Especially on phones, it's very doable to look over someone's shoulder while they're unlocking their phone or do the same with a camera. You can't do that with a fingerprint, at least not nearly as easily.

And yes, I understand that in the US (amongst others?) the legal situations with passwords and biometrics are different, but IMO that's more of a legal question, and not everyone lives in the US.

Android also has an "emergency lockdown" option, which disables biometrics for unlocking your phone - or you can shut it down (worst case scenario force shut down with a long hold on the power button) to get it into a BFU state, which is much harder to crack.

[–] LilB0kChoy@reddthat.com 5 points 21 hours ago (1 children)

Apple has something similar where you hold the power + volume up for ~3-5 seconds and you get the Power/Emergency call screen but it also disables biometrics until after a successful PIN.

[–] fuckwit_mcbumcrumble@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 18 hours ago (1 children)

You just press the power button 5 times.

[–] LilB0kChoy@reddthat.com 2 points 18 hours ago (1 children)

I thought that triggered the actual emergency call itself.

Nope. Gotta slide afterwards to make the call.

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