Apple‘s facial recognition technology or its “FaceID” service will work with Apple Pay and select third-party apps, the company announced among other things at the Apple event yesterday.
Among its other uses (FaceID essentially replaces TouchID for Apple’s newest iPhone), the feature allows a user to unlock their coveted iPhone X with a selfie.
When it comes to Apple Pay, FaceID will turn into payment authentication, with the user’s own facial biometrics acting as verification for the transaction. It can also be used for access to a user’s more sensitive apps, including banking apps or others that keep track of financial data.
The feature, which Apple claims cannot be fooled by static images like a photo of someone’s face (it also won’t be tricked by someone wearing a mask, or growing a beard, etc) works by mapping a user’s face via infrared light.
Apple’s move into facial recognition follows moves by other technology companies like Samsung and Alibaba, which just recently announced that it would be testing out a facial mapping feature of its own in Chinese KFC restaurants.
Read more at Techcrunch and Finextra.