this post was submitted on 11 Oct 2023
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Finger prints on Android stop working after 24 hours, a reboot, and some other cercumstances. I feel pretty OK using fingerprint to unlock my phone, because in about 99% of cases I might be compelled to unlock my phone, I will either be able to restart it first, or that 24 hour timer will have expired.
I may be misunderstanding you, but how does that stop an attacker?
Getting a copy of someone's fingerprint can be done without their knowledge since it is the easiest biometric to accidentally leave behind. Having to restart my phone doesn't suddenly change my fingerprints.
Or, do you have to actually re-register your prints on a daily basis via a different form of authentication? That'd seem inconvenient and like it would just move the problem around
US legal system can compel you to give biometrics, but not password/pin
They won't be able to compel you before the biometric access timer expires.
Tell that to cops at traffic stops
Yes it's a thing
Then you have a nice juicy lawsuit. No legal protection is going to prevent a rogue cop from getting your data. https://xkcd.com/538/
Good luck in court
https://www.computerworld.com/article/2743684/mich--state-police-confiscate-cell-data-at-traffic-stops--won-t-say-when-or-why.html
https://www.vice.com/en/article/aekqkj/us-state-police-have-spent-millions-on-israeli-phone-cracking-tech-cellebrite
They even brag about it
https://cellebrite.com/en/kansas-investigators-use-advanced-analytics-to-speed-their-work-and-reduce-violent-crime/
https://m.slashdot.org/story/418156
Make sure your devices are up to date
You link to articles about law enforcement hacking phones to get data as a reason not to use biometrics? If they are hacking your device it doesn't matter if you use a password or a fingerprint.
On the contrary, these tools only work when the phone has been unlocked since boot on any modern phone, so you can turn it off or reboot it
True. In the context of this thread it doesn't matter though.
After the phone restarts, you must unlock your phone with your PIN(or swipe pattern) before you can use your finger again. The same is true with the 24 hour timer. Android also has a feature that if you hit the power button a set amount of times, it requires the PIN/Pattern too. So if my phone and my finger print have been separate for more than 24 hours, my fingerprint is useless. If I have any warning at all, my fingerprint is useless. Also, after a set number of failed biometric attempts it requires PIN as well. Which means the law better get the finger print right in only a few tries or they lose their chance.
Yes, it is technically possible that law enforcement may steal my phone, duplicate my finger print(in a way that works on my phone's finger print reader), and use that to unlock my phone while they have a chance, then suck everything out of my phone. But for anything government, that's moving pretty swift for anything they might want to book me for.
I'm guessing you could reduce that to a lower number of hours if you really felt the need.
You have to enter your pin/pattern to re-enable biometrics
Also, I'm not sure which phone you're using, but if it's an Android there should be the option for password, some OEMs don't give that option but they're rare and the standard set by Google is to provide that and also the pins to be very long (I haven't personally checked the limit, but you can make them longer than reasonable)