Google has reportedly begun to roll out a a new voice identification feature that unlocks Android smartphones with a spoken command rather than a PIN number.
Several smartphone owners told the website Android Police that they first spotted the “Trusted Voice” feature in the settings menu after they updated their phones to Android’s latest version. Switching it on enables the phone to detect the unique register of the owner’s voice. Saying, “OK Google,” automatically unlocks the phone. It also comes with a warning that the feature is currently “less secure” than a written password or PIN number, according to Android Police.
Google has yet to make a formal announcement on the updated feature, suggesting that the new technology may be subject to a quiet, gradual rollout.
- TIME's Top 100 Photos of 2021
- Inside Frances Haugen's Decision to Take on Facebook
- Why We Should Stop Freaking Out About Inflation
- Austria's Plan to Make COVID-19 Vaccines Compulsory Is Dividing Citizens — and Experts
- Inside the 80-Year Quest to Name Pearl Harbor's Unknown Victims
- Buying a House Feels Impossible These Days. Here Are 6 Innovative Paths to Homeownership
- 'They're Very Close.' U.S. General Says Iran Is Nearly Able to Build a Nuclear Weapon
- A Charter School's Racial Controversy Reveals the Real Battle For America's Classrooms
