Apple iPhone voice control hack to unlock phone wearing face mask

The sudden need to wear masks is playing havoc with the biometric security on people’s phones, but there’s a way around it.

Smartphones are really just portable data collection devices that also happen to hold all the details of our closest personal secrets so of course you should be securing it properly.

Most people use a passcode, pattern, sometimes coupled with biometric info to secure their phones.

Fingerprint scanners are increasingly common, even on low-end devices, while some also have facial scanning technology that can recognise you and unlock.

Apple uses a technology it calls Face ID on all of its buttonless phones (the iPhone X, XR, XS and 11).

But the recent requirement to wear masks has caused problems for people using this feature.

The voice command tricks the phone into thinking you’re putting in your passcode.

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When Apple introduced Touch ID, which uses fingerprints, people had a similar problem in colder climates of not being able to unlock their phones while wearing gloves.

Taking off your gloves could make your hands cold, while taking off your mask could make you contract coronavirus and potentially die, so the problem is a little more dire this time.

One TikTok user has come up with a solution though.

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@kaansanity

Who knew this? 😳 ##iphonetrick ##iphonetricks ##iphonehack ##iphonehacks

♬ original sound - kaansanity

A user going by the handle Kaansanity shares tips and hacks to help you get the most out of your phone.

In a video uploaded at the end of June that’s since been viewed more than 50 million times, he shows how to use iOS accessibility features to unlock your phone using your voice.

Kaansanity shares hacks to help you get the most out of your phone.

By turning on voice control in the accessibility settings, you can assign voice commands to perform certain actions.

Kaansanity suggests creating a new command and running a custom gesture, then typing in the area of the screen where the passcode lock would appear.

Voice commands can help you unlock your phone through a mask.

This means that when you say the voice command, the phone will behave as if you’re unlocking it yourself by tapping in the passcode.

Apple’s focus on security means they’re unlikely to recommend this as an official solution.

Instead, the company has tweaked iOS to bring up the passcode unlock option quicker if the phone recognises you’re wearing a mask.