Google is reportedly working on ways to get rid of the feature where users could use their voice commands to unlock their phones. This is available across all Android phones capable of hosting Google’s voice assistant. It is believed Google felt this may not be a very secure method since a recording or someone mimicking the original voice can succeed in unlocking the device.
For starters, Google has implemented this in its own hardware, the Pixel range of smartphones. The process called Voice Match will now be deactivated in all Android run devices and till a better method is found and updated, users will have to use the other methods for unlocking of the screen.
Google’s latest edition of smartphones Pixel 3 and Pixel 3XL were possibly released without the Voice Match feature. Google uses the Google App within the Android ecosystem to write the code to activate the Voice Match function and it has now come to light that in version 8.39 of Google App, there is a string of texts which give away this change brought about by Google.
According to a report by a team from 9to5Google, which performed an APK teardown, the text appearing inside this Google App version conveys the sense 'Lock screen personal results' will be a 'more secure way' for the future. This has been taken to confirm that Google is not doing this as a one-off exercise but plans to go ahead and change the feature itself.
Now the logistics of how this is going to be implemented across the thousands of brands of smartphones worldwide needs to be seen. Will it mean the Android versions being passed on to be installed in new phones may carry the change and others may have to be done through a patch? Google may come out with its blog on the topic shortly and clear the air.