Apple may let you unlock your iPhone by taking a selfie

There’s probably no more direct way to tell your phone who you are than by simply showing it your face. That’s what a newly patented technology developed by Apple would do.

Apple was granted the patent by the U.S. Patent Office today.

“In the embodiment of the invention, a mobile device is configured to automatically lock based on determining that a user’s face is no longer present in the image captured by the device’s built-in camera,” the patent reads.

You wouldn’t need Touch ID or a password any more, only a quick picture of your face. If the phone didn’t recognize the your face it would lock itself.

And it keeps snapping pictures now and then to make sure the authenticated user is still using the phone. The phone might also decide to snap a quick pic if it senses that it has been motionless for a while.

The technology might work on other Apple devices, too, like iPads or iCars.

Hat tip: Cult of Mac