iOS 11.3 to bring Face ID family purchase approval finally

Face ID, or rather the removal of Touch ID in lieu of it, has thrown much of established iOS practices into chaos. Never mind the issue of tricking the 3D face recognition system, there are some things that can't also be done precisely because of that. One of those is easily approving family purchases using Face ID, which is both a safety measure and a major inconvenience for parents. Now it seems that, based on the latest iOS 11.3 beta, that is going to change and parents will finally be able to approve their kids' purchases with their face.

Approving family purchases with Face ID is a thorny subject. Time and again, videos and news have sprung up trying to demonstrate how family members, usually siblings and offspring, have been able to trick Face ID into believing they are the owner. Imagine, then, the chaos, not to mention lawsuits, that would ensue if those same family members were able to approve purchases on the app store or in apps by themselves.

The alternative, however, isn't ideal either. Owners, like parents, would have to type in their iTunes password for each and every purchase approval. Of course, if the iPhone X still had Touch ID, that wouldn't be an issue. Alas, users have been complaining about this shortcoming since the advent of the iPhone X. Fortunately, that will be changing soon.

It's not exactly clear what has changed in iOS 11.3 other than Apple is now probably more confident in Face ID's accuracy. For the first purchase approval, users will still have to type in their account password but subsequent approvals will only require a glance. Hopefully, however, users, and Apple, won't regret it.

VIA: 9to5Mac