Chinese users call Apple’s iPhone X ‘racist’ for allegedly not being able to tell them apart using Face ID

The increasing number of iPhone users in China — where more than a billion people reside — are expressing concerns about their privacy and security regarding the iPhone X. Apparently, Apple has been dubbed ‘racist’ by the Chinese after a boy was reportedly able to unlock his mother’s phone with his face using the device’s facial recognition software. It turns out that they aren’t the only family in China who has experienced this.

The story goes like this: in China, a man bought an iPhone X for his wife. He was then shocked to discover that their son could access the phone using Face ID — the device’s proprietary facial recognition software. The man then called the Apple customer service hotline to report the incident. He narrated:

“Our son was using it and didn’t know the password.”

The customer service representative told him that it was a rare case and chalked it up to the fact that his wife and his son looked similar.

However, another report eventually came out stating that a Chinese woman could unlock her colleague’s iPhone X in the same manner. The woman, identified as a Madam Yan from Nanjing, said that she was able to unlock her colleague, Madam Wan’s, iPhone X via Face ID as well. She even claimed that they tried it several times while sporting different hairdos.

Madam Yan and Madam Wan then proceeded to the store to prove that their case was, in fact, true. That was when they discovered that they could also unlock other iPhone X units in the store using FaceID.

Madam Wan said:

“We look quite ordinary. What if someone picks up my phone and opens it? Then they could buy stuff through my phone and make payments. We don’t have any sense of security.”

The tech giant has reportedly launched a full investigation on the matter. Madam Yan’s case was also reported to the Apple customer service hotline but the pair was told that it was “impossible.”

Despite the controversy, Apple continues to use the facial recognition software and claims that there is only a one in a million chance that someone else can unlock another person’s iPhone X. Moreover, the company has reportedly been working with people all over the world to rectify this mishap.

What can you say about this? Do you think Apple’s FaceID is racist? Share your comments and reactions below!