Occurred: December 2017
Report incident 🔥 | Improve page 💁 | Access database 🔢
A man from Shanghai has discovered that the iPhone he bought for his wife could be unlocked by her teenage son.
The father said he had phoned Apple’s customer service hotline to report the problem, and was told it was a rare, isolated case caused by the physical similarities of his wife and son.
The incident led to accusations of racism, with some people blaming the lack of ethnic diversity in the technology industry.
It also raised questions about the reliability of Apple's Face ID technology.
Operator: Apple
Developer: Apple
Country: China
Sector: Consumer goods
Purpose: Strengthen security
Technology: Facial recognition
Issue: Accuracy/reliability; Bias/discrimination - race; Security; Privacy
Page info
Type: Incident
Published: August 2023