this post was submitted on 02 Aug 2026
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Cybersecurity
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I think it depends. Some people might be inclined to use too short or simple password because they don't wanna constantly be typing a long password. It's much better to have a strong password and fingerprint/face rec for convince than just a insecure password.
In the USA, they can legally force you to unlock a device using biometrics.
Also, biometrics can be fooled in other ways.
Law enforcement can legally trick you into giving up your password, too, and that's full access right there. Having an unlocked phone but no password isn't enough to get into certain parts of the core system/security settings, and trying to get into those will prompt a password anyway (and that generally gatekeeps the access to the phone through a physical connector plugged into the port).
Neither pathway is perfect but I think for real world usage and real world adversaries (not just law enforcement, but also criminal thieves/scammers/hackers, and governmental adversaries that aren't bound by legal limits, like foreign intelligence agencies), it's better to have biometrics so that you are physically punching in your PIN/password much less frequently. Especially on modern systems that get spooked easily and require a password anyway when the phone has been idle too long or when the wrong face looks at it too many times.