Android's Face Unlock, as I've mentioned in a previous post, is pretty
farcical as a means of securing a smartphone against theft. I've found
that it is convenient, however, for handsfree (well OK, one-handed)
operation while driving or walking through a crowd. Just press the
unlock button and
aim
the front-facing camera at your face. You don't
even have to look at it. So I can see the appeal based on the
convenience factor.
What I'm proposing is a sort of two-step authentication for unlocking
your smartphone without sacrificing any convenience. Here's how it
works:
An increasing number of smartphone users are (or soon will be) using
some sort of wearable Bluetooth accessory (Earpiece, MOTOACTV
wristband, Nike Fit wristband, smartwatch, Google Glass, etc).
Wearable tech is unlikely to be set down in a bar or coffee shop and
walked away from because you're wearing it, and because it stays on
your person AND connects to your smartphone wirelessly, it makes a
convenient security authenticator.
So you pair your smartphone with one or more pieces of wearable
tech, and a simple app handles the rest. The app detects when your
Bluetooth accessory is connected to the smartphone, and activates
the Face Unlock feature when it is connected. If the smartphone
becomes disconnected from the accessory (Say, for instance,
because it has moved beyond the ±30ft range) the Face Unlock
feature is disabled and a normal PIN/password unlock screen is
displayed instead.