Face ID, which has been present in Apple smartphones since the iPhone 10 generation, is one of the features that, while not being Apple’s creation (biometric identification using facial recognition is much earlier), has come to the fore and therefore be adopted by many manufacturers device as a security system to block some particularly critical functions such as unlocking the device, confirming payments, and the like.

With the arrival of Face ID and the expansion of its reach, Apple has made available to developers all the necessary elements to include the new biometric identification system in their applications, the same way I did before with Touchch ID. In this way, we quickly began to see how certain applications, especially those for certain services (such as banking), already allow us to log in simply by pointing the front camera at our face.

Personally, as a user of first Touch ID and later Face ID, I’ve always really liked how biometric identification systems work on Apple devices. That’s right, yes Face ID had to face the mask problem in 2020, although the response was quick and accurate. However, I have long thought that Apple could go further by including both identification systems in the iPhone, iPad, etc., as other manufacturers have been doing for a long time. The flexibility I found in the Google Pixel, which I personally find the most suitable, because each system has its limitations, but the ability to use one or the other greatly expands its reach.

Be that as it may, I reiterate that I find Apple’s biometric identification systems extremely reliable, so this feels like great news. And as we read on MacRumors, iOS 18 will allow users to block access to apps using Face ID. It is understood that this news will be revealed at WWDC 2024, although it is not entirely clear whether it will be announced during the inaugural keynote or if it will be introduced later in the convention.

Due to how each user uses them, an application that in one case needs no protection can be particularly vulnerable to “shielding” in another case, which is why it is so interesting that in addition to the blocks created by application developers, their users can also decide whether they want to prevent strangers from accessing them. If it ends up being confirmed, I wouldn’t be surprised if it is another one of the features that will take little time to jump to third-party devices. And I hope so.