Google has delivered a sophisticated biometric security feature in its latest Pixel smartphones, but it has a glaring potential flaw: the devices’ Face Unlock system can authenticate a user even if they’re eyes are closed. The Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL‘s Face Unlock system is otherwise pretty impressive. Taking a cue from Apple, Google…
Biometrics News – Mobile Biometrics – Facial Recognition A Google subcontractor is being scrutinized for its questionable data collection tactics. The company in question is Randstad, which hired and managed a field team of Google TVCs (Temps, Vendors, and Contractors) to gather face images from the general public. People were offered $5 gift cards in…
“An unusually large amount of information has been leaked about the Google Pixel 4, reportedly because a retailer in Hanoi has been selling nearly-finished samples of the device.” Google is expected to launch its latest flagship smartphone in a matter of weeks, and it looks like the company is going to follow Apple’s lead in…
The Nest Hub Max isn’t expected to hit store shelves until September 9th, but Google Assistant is already listing Face Match in its settings menu. The facial recognition feature will allow the Nest Hub Max to recognize the faces of different people when they enter the room and display calendars, alerts, and other information customized…
“…Google has indicated the feature will be coming to any phone running Android 7.0 (or something more recent) in the next few days, while the service will presumably make its way to services like Gmail at some point in the future.” Google has enabled biometric authentication for people trying to access Google services on Android…
Google is handing out $5 gift cards in exchange for five minutes of face time with random people on the street. The company is reportedly training a new facial recognition algorithm that would be deployed in the next generation of Pixel smartphones. The algorithm would essentially give Google an in-house alternative to Apple’s Face ID,…
Google Search Product Manager David Monsees has taken to the company’s blog to emphasize its commitment to privacy and clarify some of its policies around the use of audio data. The post was written after one of the company’s language experts leaked confidential Dutch audio data, with Monsees noting that the leak is a violation…
It has been another busy week in the varied world of biometrics, with the week’s top stories covering a range of modalities and applications. That having been said, two of FindBiometrics’ most popular articles speak to the persistent popularity of one salient trend in particular – the emergence of the biometric payment cards market: IDEX…
“The Pixel 4 XL, as depicted in the new renders, has an almost full-size screen, with a small bezel on the bottom of the device’s front face, and a somewhat thicker top bezel that appears to house dual cameras and two other sensors.” New renders of the Google’s next big Pixel smartphone are further making…
“As for the fingerprint sensor, it seems clear enough from Google’s own images that there isn’t going to be one on the Pixel 4’s rear.” Google’s next flagship smartphone is going to feature a big square bump for cameras and potentially other sensors on its rear, and appears to be doing away with rear-mounted fingerprint…
It looks like Google is aiming to make facial recognition a more prominent component of its Android operating system for mobile devices, according to recent teardowns of the Beta 4 version of the forthcoming Android Q. The sleuthing found references in the mobile OS’s code to face-based authentication. And while Google had implemented support for…
The mobile sector has been an increasingly prominent one in the larger biometrics market since the Apple’s game-changing launch of Touch ID back in 2013, and with new innovations like Face ID and in-display fingerprint scanning, it shows no signs of slowing down. So it’s no wonder that FindBiometrics’ roundup of this week’s top biometrics…
Google has launched the latest devices in its Pixel line of smartphones, and they once again feature fingerprint sensors from Fingerprint Cards. Launching just seven months after the Pixel 3, the new Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL are very similar devices, with one key difference: They’re priced at $399 and $479, respectively, compared to…
Google is consolidating its Nest and Google Home divisions with the Google Nest Hub Max, a slightly bigger version of the Google Home Hub (now the Google Nest Hub) speaker. Beyond the larger size (a 10-inch touchscreen instead of a 7-inch touchscreen), the Nest Hub Max’s most noteworthy addition is a new camera with facial…
The Biometrics Institute has issued seven ethical principles meant to serve as a guideline for how contemporary biometrics technology should be deployed. The list of principles begins with a bit of a tautology – “Ethical behaviour” – and goes on to include “Ownership of the biometric and respect for individuals’ personal data”, “Serving humans”, “Justice…
Google has made some significant improvements to the speech recognizer on its mobile phones. The new software outputs every single character in real time and is entirely contained on the mobile device, which means that the dictation system will work offline with zero latency. Johan Schalkwyk, a Google Fellow with the company’s Speech Team, explained…
The Illinois Supreme Court has issued its ruling on a pivotal case concerning the state’s biometric privacy law, with a unanimous decision upholding its broad scope. The case, Rosenbach v. Six Flags, was brought forward by the mother whose son was, at the age of 14, fingerprinted at the Six Flags amusement park as part…
“By targeting three of the world’s biggest tech companies, the letters could help to focus attention on the issue.” A coalition of 85 advocacy and activist groups have signed open letters urging Amazon, Google, and Microsoft to pledge not to sell facial recognition technology to government authorities. Signatories include the American Civil Liberties Union, the…
“A key component of the GMCNgine is Rekognition, Amazon’s controversial computer vision platform.” Facial recognition technology’s growing role in the fight against child exploitation could see a substantial expansion after the International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children’s launch of a new AI-driven system this week. Called the GMCNgine, the system leverages machine learning and artificial…