New for iOS 12: How to Allow a Second Person to Use Face ID on Your iPhone X, XS, XS Max or XR

By Leanne Hays on Wed, 11/14/2018

* This post is part of iPhone Life's Tip of the Day newsletter. . *

Apple has offered biometric locking features since it introduced Touch ID with the iPhone 5s. With the iPhone X, biometric authentication took the leap to Face ID, and that feature is also included in Apple's newest iPhones, the iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR. There's a convenient new feature with the latest operating system, iOS 12, that allows facial recognition for not just one, but two people. Now if you'd like to share your iPhone with a partner, friend, or child, you don't have to give them your passcode or open the phone yourself before handing it to them. Let's get started setting your iPhone X and later to recognize a second face. 

Related: 10 iPhone Security Mistakes You're Making and How to Fix Them

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To allow a second person to use Face ID on your iPhone X and later:
  • Open the Settings app.
  • Tap Face ID & Passcode.
faceface id
  • Tap Set Up an Alternate Appearance.
  • Now your iPhone will walk the person you'd like to be able to use Face ID on your device through the steps of setting up Face ID.

iphone x face recognitioniphone face recognition

 

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Topics: 
How-To
iPhone
Privacy and Security
Tip of the Day
iPhone X
Settings
Leanne Hays's picture
Leanne Hays

Leanne Hays is an SEO Content Strategist and Feature Writer at iPhone Life, and has written hundreds of in-depth how-to and troubleshooting articles. She's a former Associate Editor for iPhone Life magazine, and has written for the Iowa Source, as well as web content for education marketing. Leanne has an associate's degree in education, with a focus on curriculum development, as well as a bachelor's degree in science. She has over nine years of experience with SEO, social media management, and web development and writing. Despite years of web work, Leanne is by no means an early adapter; she's only owned a smartphone for five years, which makes her highly sympathetic to the learning curve of new iPhone owners. She enjoys making reader's lives easier and putting her education experience to work by walking them through the most practical ways to use Apple devices, step-by-step.

In off-work hours, Leanne is a mother of two, homesteader, audiobook fanatic, musician, and learning enthusiast.