You may want to familiarize yourself with The androids lock feature

Photo: Vjeran Pavic/The Verge

Google has come up with its own face unlock system for the Pixel 4 and 4 XL using these advanced sensors in the top bezel phones. The technology behind it is similar to Apples Face ID, and aside from just letting you into your phone, Google believes that face unlock is secure enough to serve as an authentication method across Android. (No more fingerprint sensor on the Pixel 4, remember.) And its very fast. But bbc News reporter Chris Fox has noticed an alarming privacy concern with Googles face unlock: it works even if your eyes are completely closed.

The support page about face unlock directly confirms as much. Your phone can also be unlocked by someone else if its held up to your face even if your eyes are closed, the page reads. Keep your phone in a safe place, such as a front pocket or handbag. You will want to follow this advice at night, as face unlock will also work if you are fast asleep.

It is a risk factor that iPhones do not share. By default, Apples Face ID requires attention meaning that your eyes must be open and actively looking at the iPhone or IPad Pro screen to successfully unlock your device. This setting, which Apple says is an additional security measure, can be turned off in settings if the customer wishes. But Apple clearly States that the requirement of attention makes a Face ID more secure.

For the Pixel 4, There’s no such option yet, at least. There is evidence that Google is working on this. Among the countless pixel 4 leaks, you might have missed a photo of this screen with the ability to require the eyes to be open for the face to unlock at work.

However, according to Fox, this switch is not present on the Pixel 4s software, which will be delivered to consumers next week. When reached by the Verge, Google did not say whether or not this extra layer of security is definitely coming. We don’t have anything specific to announce about future features or timelines, but like most of our products, this feature is designed to get better over time with future software updates, a spokesperson said by email.

But there is one way Pixel 4 buyers can prevent this possibility while Google rolls out a fix.

Google reminds customers of the Androids lock feature, which completely disables biometric authentication and will only unlock the phone if and when a PIN is entered. The lock can now be added directly to the power menu options on Pixel phones for quick access if you find yourself in a situation where you urgently need to disrupt prying eyes like this:

IOS has the same quick trick: you can just hold down the power button and one of the volume buttons until you see the power menu (or feel a vibration if you’re not looking at the phone), after which Face ID is temporarily disabled until you enter the PIN.

Heres how to add a shortcut to lock in your power options in Android 10 which is what Pixel 4 ships with:

• Open settings
• Select display
• Expand the advanced section at the bottom
• Tap on the lock screen display
• lock Option

Besides disabling face unlock, lock also turns off the smart lock (so your trusted Bluetooth devices wont unlock your phone if theyre still on you) and hides notifications from the lock screen.