When Will You Be Able to Unlock Your Phone With Your Eyes?

First came the fingerprint scanner, which proved to be a popular and secure way to lock our smartphones. But touch ID isn’t enough, and there have been many issues with the technology, such as its ability to be hacked. That’s why you should have various security features in place so that your phone is as secure as possible. Click here to add an extra layer of security to your device by locking your apps:

This feature will utilize the front-facing camera on a smartphone to scan your eye (which is unique to you). You’ll then be able to unlock your phone with your eyes or make mobile payments. This latter option is especially desirable to financial institutions that want to prevent fraud and make mobile payment easier to use.

The Galaxy Note 7

We’ve seen iris scanners in sci-fi films and the like, and we know that they’re a common aspect of our national security. Soon, that feature will be available on our smartphones. Correction: it already was available, technically, with the release of Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7. The device has since been recalled, which means that there are few devices currently on the market or in development that feature both a fingerprint scanner and an iris scanner.

There’s still a lot of progress to be made with the iris scanner for smartphones, too. With the Note 7, it took three steps to unlock your phone — two steps had to be completed before using the iris scanner. For the average smartphone user, this is a hassle. The phone also has to be a certain distance away from a user’s face in order to work. Nonetheless, this is only the beginning of an incredible technological feat.

The Future of Iris Scanners

Iris scanners promise to be more secure than passwords and fingerprint ID combined. By 2018, iris scanners could be a regular security feature of smartphones. Many tech experts want iris scanners to fully replace passwords and fingerprint IDs, citing that this security feature will help to minimize password stress and hacking.

The downside, however, is that iris scanners currently don’t work well with people who wear glasses. You’ll also have trouble unlocking your phone if you’re half asleep, and unable to properly focus on your phone (so that it can scan your eye). Still, it’s possible that the iris scanner might only be used for unlocking sensitive files on your device, as opposed to unlocking the phone as a whole. For now, keep your device secure by locking your apps, so that all your personal data will be protected.