this post was submitted on 26 Feb 2026
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Explain Like I'm Five

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Hello everyone, I'm hoping to gain some insight regarding a privacy concern. I'm always mindful of the possibility that my biometric fingerprint, which I use regularly, could be accessed by someone if I were compelled to use it. For context, I'm not a criminal or particularly tech-savvy, and I'm relatively new to the world of privacy and FOSS applications. I currently use a Samsung phone. I've found that enabling Lockdown mode at night without needing to restart my device prevents anyone from accessing my phone while I sleep. However, my concern stems from a different scenario. Recently, while shopping, I experienced a sudden medical episode and lost consciousness for about ten minutes. During that time, shopkeepers assisted me. I'm worried that in such a vulnerable state, if someone were to misuse my biometric data, they could gain access to all my passwords and personal information, which feels unsafe. While I do value the convenience of biometrics, I'm seeking alternative solutions. Is there a way to prevent my phone from being opened using my fingerprint, even in urgent situations, without completely disabling biometric authentication? Thanks in advance.

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[–] Iconoclast@feddit.uk 4 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Use a pin code or a pattern. If you're concerned about privacy, then handing tech companies your fingerprint isn't very wise to begin with.

[–] WhatAmLemmy@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

The problem with pins/patterns is that someone could tail you until they see you use it, which for me wouldn't take long. With the expansion of the surveillance state, the secret police would only have to tail you through security cameras for a day or two before you unlock your phone within shot of one.

There is no silver bullet that can make it impenetrable, other than not using a phone. If you're a high value target, keep anything incriminating in some E2EE vault or service like proton, cryptpad.fr, crypt.ee etc. Really just keep any of it off your phone. If you're entering your passwords using a password manager with biometrics, the creds can't be captured by watching you type. Most people don't need to worry about this level of security or paranoia, and if they ever did, should just use a dumb phone and faraday bag than try to outsmart big brother.

[–] cdzero@lemmy.ml 1 points 10 hours ago

Some ROMs have an option to move the number positions when you input a PIN. A decent protection from someone watching you key it.