Lock an App with FaceID/TouchID without asking passcode

Question

Created 2w

Replies 3

Boosts 0

Participants 3

With the update to iOS version 18.0, there was a significant improvement in information security and user privacy, allowing apps to be locked using FaceID (or TouchID), with no possibility of using the phone's unlock passcode to access the locked app (see reference: https://www.reddit.com/r/Wealthsimple/comments/1fr1nnj/psa_ios_18_require_face_id_feature_mitigates/).

As a result, even if someone else knew your iPhone unlock passcode, they wouldn't be able to open the locked apps, as FaceID (or TouchID) would be required. However, after updating to iOS 18.1.1, someone who knows your iPhone unlock passcode and is using your iPhone (or has stolen your iPhone and requested the unlock passcode) can inadvertently open the locked apps, because after a few failed attempts to open the locked app without FaceID (or TouchID), the iPhone will prompt for the unlock passcode to open the locked app.

Even if the user has moved the app to the hidden folder, the content of that folder and the hidden apps within it can be opened with the iPhone unlock passcode after several failed attempts to open the hidden app without FaceID (or TouchID).

It would be very important for users if this security and privacy weakness were eliminated, returning to what iOS 18.0 did: the only way to open a locked app is through FaceID (or TouchID), and it would not be possible to open it with the iPhone unlock passcode.

Answered by DTS Engineer in 816618022

The best way to get this feedback to the relevant folks is to file it using Feedback Assistant.

Please post your bug number, just for the record.

Share and Enjoy
—
Quinn “The Eskimo!” @ Developer Technical Support @ Apple
let myEmail = "eskimo" + "1" + "@" + "apple.com"

Boost

Answer 1

DTS Engineer OP

Apple

2w

Recommended

The best way to get this feedback to the relevant folks is to file it using Feedback Assistant.

Please post your bug number, just for the record.

Share and Enjoy
—
Quinn “The Eskimo!” @ Developer Technical Support @ Apple
let myEmail = "eskimo" + "1" + "@" + "apple.com"

0

Answer 2

KDHID21 OP

2w

You will need to turn on “Stolen Device Protection” under the Face ID & Passcode settings. When this feature is on, the app you are trying to open with the “Require Face ID” feature will NOT fall back to using your passcode to open it when Face ID fails. It will just keep asking to use Face ID again to open it.

0

Answer 3

Fonte OP

2w

Hello, @KDHID21 . Thank you for your response.

I’ve noticed that when the "Stolen Device Protection" option is enabled, unlocking a locked app with the "Require FaceID (or TouchID)" feature behaves in two different ways:

__ When the iPhone considers that you are in a safe location__: after 2 FaceID (or TouchID) failures to open the locked app, the iPhone prompts for the passcode, and simply entering the passcode will allow the app to open normally.
__ When the iPhone considers that you are in an unsafe location__: after 5 FaceID (or TouchID) failures to open the locked app, the iPhone prompts for the passcode in order to re-enable FaceID (or TouchID), and the app will not open until FaceID (or TouchID) is entered correctly.

Are you able to reproduce these two situations on your iPhone?

For user security and privacy, it would be important that the locked app could only be opened using FaceID (or TouchID), with the passcode not being a valid method of access after FaceID (or TouchID) failures.

0