With biometric locking systems that rely on voice, thumbprint, and facial recognition engines, you don’t need to deal with random password generators and password managers, as well as resort to the old-school scenario of trying to remember your latest passwords and then typing them on the tiny touchscreen of your mobile device. Protect your Android smartphone and tablet with these four locking apps with facial recognition capability. You can download them all for free from the Google Play store.
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FastAccess Anywhere
Don’t worry about anyone trying to log in using your photo or video. The FastAccess Anywhere app can detect such maneuvers. The free version of this smart locking app is able to detect and scan your face for a quick, secure login to your Android device. You can download and install the app for free on an unlimited number of mobile devices.
FastAccess Anywhere is only free during the trial period. To continue using the face recognition service, you need to pay for a subscription to a cloud account. The price of the cloud account subscription starts at $9.99 for a full year.
FaceLock for apps
The free version of FaceLock allows you to secure Settings, Task Manager, Market, and one app of your choice via facial recognition or traditional password. Settings, Task Manager, and Market are all protected so that unauthorized users cannot disable or uninstall FaceLock on your Android device. There are helpful tips at facelock.mobi/tips-and-faq for proper training of the app’s face recognition engine through pictures shot under various lighting conditions.
FaceRecog
Tested for Android versions 2.3 and higher, this face recognition app replaces your lock screen. What’s great about FaceRecog is that you can set it to recognize multiple authorized users on a single Android device. An “administrator” is required, however, and this particular user unlocks the mobile device via a trained face and a password.
Because the performance of current face recognition engines is affected by lighting conditions and facial expressions, the FaceRecog app allows you to decide on a “confidence threshold.” Experiment on various confidence thresholds to achieve your desired configuration.
Visidon AppLock
Visidon AppLock’s convenient face-locking system helps you secure any application on your Android smartphone or tablet. You can train your face to block access to your multimedia gallery or SMS text messages, for example. Check out Visidon’s brief face training guide at visidon.fi/en/Visidon_AppLock_info. Since the free version of this mobile app is supported by ads, using it can hog the memory of your Android device. Just make sure that you have plenty of free space to accommodate the app’s memory requirement.