August and Yale locks pick up remote biometric verification
August and Yale smart locks are picking up a new feature that should make remote access just a little bit more secure. The opt-in change allows for remote biometric authentication before locking or unlocking your home's smart lock remotely. Further enhancing on-device security, there's a new Hide Entry Codes feature that — you guessed it — makes it so your entry codes can only be viewed for a short time.
The feature works with Wi-Fi connected Yale and August smart locks (or those with Wi-Fi bridges), and it works with both fingerprint sensors and face recognition, but only if the Secure Remote Access feature is enabled. If you don't have biometric-based means of authentication on your Phone (or it doesn't work for some reason), you'll be able to easily fall back to a secure PIN. Note that the feature doesn't work over Bluetooth; it's only for folks with the "Owner" access level, not guests; and it has to be enabled for all Owners at once.
