FaceLock lets you protect your Android device using facial recognition, say you don't want anyone using a particular app - tell FaceLock to protect it and any time the app is asked to run it will check it's you using it and not someone else. The new update adds an experimental feature, allowing it to unlock the phone itself by recognising your face. Although this feature is only in the Pro version, which is the basis of this review, I'm happy to say both the free and pro versions work well on an Android device running gingerbread (Android version 2.3) or higher.
The facial recognition itself is impressive, after taking ten different images to train it (you can take less or more but ten is recommended) the app performed flawlessly never mistaking one person for another and if for any reason it cannot identify someone, for example in a dark environment, it can revert to asking for a pin, password or pattern to verify it's really you.FaceLock is great for protecting apps you don't want others to run, perhaps you have private data you want protected (such as a banking app) or want to restrict say a son or daughter from accidentally using something such as facebook or netflix. With this they could only use protected apps or devices when you are present.
The newly added screen lock feature is equally impressive and a welcome addition. There is a brief moment when your Android is first switched on (or rebooted) when, because your device has not yet loaded in third party apps, the FaceLock is not active.
It is a short period but you needn't be worried about it because if someone were to steal your device and reboot it to try bypassing the lock they would have to be very quick indeed because that window of opportunity is very small (seconds) and as soon as FaceLock runs the phone locks, preventing any unauthorised access.
Can it be circumvented with a photograph of the recognised user? In theory you would think so but during my testing I tried using several recent photographs of myself including one taken the same day as testing and was unable to have it unlock anything although I would have expected it to be able to as it seems unlikely the app can tell if the face it sees is real or just a still image.
It is of course great fun to just hold your phone in front of you and have it automatically unlock, but the app does have a very real use as a security feature and indeed security is a key factor here with FaceLock being able to be set to one of three security levels. These levels change the level of certainty that the app requires before unlocking. I tried only the highest level, which means it will only unlock when it is 100% sure it's you, but you can alter the setting should you require it to be a little less precise.
Are there any bugs or flaws in the app? Not that I have noticed, it would be nice if before the app reverts to asking for a password it would offer to retry facial recognition but then this isn't a problem as you can tell FaceLock to wait for a longer period of time before deciding a face cannot be recognised.
You can of course have the screen locked with your Androids pin security lock as well as FaceLock, providing double security for those who feel they need it, something that may appeal to those after the highest level of security possible but however you use it FaceLock is one of those useful apps that just happen to also have that side to them where its fun to show people just what it can do.
In a bold move the developer has no adverts in FaceLock, instead relying on the quality of the app itself to attract customers to buy the pro version which of course has additional features such as the screen lock.The app certainly gets my vote, it's a useful security application that brings an added layer of protection to Android. Some may ask why, when Android 4 has a face unlock feature of its own, we should use this and the reasons are obvious.
Only seven percent of Androids currently run version 4 of the operating system and so, for the majority of devices, this is the only real alternative to that which actually works, and aside from the fact that a lot of new devices are shipped without face recognition being one of the included features FaceLock allows you to do more than simply unlock your phone or tablet, it also allows selective protection of only specified applications as well as having additional settings that help improve upon the alternatives such as that offered by Google for Android 4.0 (more popularly known as Ice Cream Sandwich, or ICS).
With useful settings that aid its performance, a good level of accuracy and a high rating on the Play store this is one app definitely worth a look.
