In this tutorial, we will show you how to add another person’s face to Face ID on your iPhone or iPad so they can also unlock your device and authenticate for apps and purchases using their face.
One key component of Face ID is its ability to use advanced machine learning to recognize changes in your appearance, such as hair growth, a new pair of glasses, and such. However, to increase the success rate of Face ID, you can set up an alternate appearance to push this recognition to an all-new level. This is particularly useful for those people who radically change their appearance frequently.
Apple never says that the alternate appearance option is intended to recognize someone else’s face. Instead, Apple notes, “In addition to continuously learning how you look, Face ID can recognize an alternative appearance.” But you can use this feature on your iPhone or iPad to give another person the same Face ID privileges as you.
So, if you want your iOS device to be unlocked by a trusted person, such as your spouse or kids, you can add their face alongside yours.
Note: Unlike Touch ID, which lets you add up to five fingerprints, you are limited to just two faces on Face ID.
Set up another person’s face for Face ID
1) Open the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad and tap Face ID & Passcode. Enter your device passcode to go inside.
2) Tap Set Up an Alternate Appearance.
3) Hand over your iPhone or iPad to the person whose face you want to add. Now, tap Get Started and ask that person to finish the Face ID setup. The process is identical to how you did this the first time around.
4) Once that’s done, you will see the “Use Face ID with a Mask” screen on iPhone 12 and later (not on older iPhones or iPads). The second person’s face is already added to Face ID. So, you can tap one of the three options on this screen: Use Face ID with a Mask, Don’t Use Face ID with a Mask, or Set Up Later.
Once the alternate appearance for Face ID is set up, the second person gets all the rights as you. They can unlock your device, use Face ID to download apps, make purchases, get inside locked apps, and do everything else that you can with Face ID.
Note: You may have to wait for an hour to add an alternate appearance if you have turned on Stolen Device Protection on your iPhone. So, tap Start Security Delay, wait for an hour, and then you can add the second face to Face ID.
If you don’t see the option to Set Up an Alternate Appearance in Face ID settings
This can be for one of these two reasons:
1) You have already set up an alternate appearance (but do not recall doing so). In this case, you may see the Set Up Face ID with a Mask for Alternate Appearance option on your iPhone (Face ID with mask is not available on iPad).
You can tap Reset Face ID and add your face. After that, tap Set Up an Alternate Appearance to add a second person’s face.
2) You have not set up Face ID in the first place. Tap Set Up Face ID to add your face, and then tap Set Up an Alternate Appearance to add another person’s face.
Remove the second person’s face from Face ID
There is no option to remove another person’s face from your device’s Face ID, as this feature is not intended for another person’s face in the first place. However, if you no longer want them to use Face ID, go to iPhone or iPad Settings > Face ID & Passcode and tap Reset Face ID. This will remove both their and your face from Face ID. You can then tap Set Up Face ID and add your face to it.
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