Your fingerprint data is stored securely and never leaves your Pixel Slate. Your fingerprint data isn't shared with Google or any apps on your device. Apps are notified only whether your fingerprint was verified.
If you're ready to get started using your fingerprint to unlock your phone, find out how to set up your fingerprints.
Cautions about fingerprints
Fingerprints are an easy way to unlock your device. But a fingerprint may be less secure than a strong password or PIN.
A copy of your fingerprint could be used to unlock your device. You leave fingerprints on many things that you touch, including your device.
Fingerprint data is stored securely
Google has strict guidelines about how fingerprint data can be stored on Pixel Slate.
Fingerprint hardware security requirementsSecure location
- Capturing and recognising your fingerprint must happen in a secure part of the hardware known as a Secure Biometrics Processor (SBP).
- Fingerprint data must be secured within sensor hardware or trusted memory so that images of your fingerprint aren't accessible.
Secure storage & removal
- Only the encrypted form of the fingerprint data can be stored on the file system, even if the file system itself is encrypted.
- Fingerprint data must be removed from the device when a user is removed.
- Rooting of a device must not compromise fingerprint data.
Google's guidelines require fingerprint templates – that is, the processed versions of raw fingerprint images – to be cryptographically authenticated.
Fingerprint templates must be signed with a private, device-specific key – such as keyed-hash message authentication code (HMAC) – with at least the absolute file-system path, group and finger ID, such that template files won't work on another device, or for anyone besides the person who set them up on the same device. For example, copying the fingerprint data from a different user on the same device or from another device, must not work.
A device-specific encryption key – such as Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) – must be used for fingerprint data so that a raw image or fingerprint template isn't readable by a separate device.