In every device that you can unlock with biometrics like fingerprint or face scanner (Laptops, Tablets, Phones, etc.), they often claim entering a password is safer than using biometrics, and they block the most secure settings and information behind a passcode rather than a quick fingerprint or face scanner. Wouldn’t it be easier to steal a password than it would be to physically copy someone’s fingerprint?
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One thing that may be relevant in some cases is that a passcode is looking for an exact match, whereas two pictures of the same face will be different because of lighting, smiles, and so on. Biometrics are usually measured on some sort of “close enough” basis.
One thing that means is that a password can be mashed up with some complicated maths to make an encryption key. That key can be used to keep files on your phone safe from prying eyes. The same sorts of maths doesn’t work for biometrics, because two things which are close but not the same wind up making completely different and very wrong encryption keys.
I see this on my phone, for example, in that I can use my fingerprint to log in normally but I have to use a PIN to log in if the phone restarts. That makes sense because restarting the phone makes it forget the encryption key, and only the PIN is able to tell it what that key was.
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