How ‘Average’ Selfies Improve Smartphone Security

Having an “average” photo of yourself can significantly improve the facial recognition aspect of smartphone security, report researchers.

"It is very interesting that performance can be so much improved by copying a simple trick performed by the brain," says David Robertson. Susanne Nilsson, CC BY-SA 2.0

Having an “average” photo of yourself can significantly improve the facial recognition aspect of smartphone security, report researchers.

Combining different pictures of the user, rather than a single “target” image, leads to much better recognition across all kinds of daily settings, reported researchers.

The researchers examined the performance of the Face Unlock system on Samsung Galaxy phones. They found that the system was generally very good at rejecting imposters, but that it often failed to recognize the genuine owner.

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