Under certain circumstances, the police here in Germany are allowed to use force to unlock my cell phone with my finger. Since I learned this, I have started using a PIN again.
this post was submitted on 26 Feb 2026
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Is there a way to prevent my phone from being opened using my fingerprint, even in urgent situations, without completely disabling biometric authentication?
I think the simplest way in an urgent situation is to turn it off. I believe (at least most android) phones will always request the pin on boot.
Good question! That's exactly one of the major issues with biometric authentication. And there's no way around it. You need a second factor. Configure your phone so it only unlocks if you also input something you know. Like a password or pin.