We have encountered an issue reported by one of our users involving the Local Authentication framework. In our biometric authentication flow, we first check biometric availability using: let context = LAContext() var error: NSError? let canEvaluate = context.canEvaluatePolicy( .deviceOwnerAuthenticationWithBiometrics, error: &error ) For this particular user, canEvaluatePolicy repeatedly returned false with the error LAError.biometryNotAvailable (observed 7 times in our logs). What makes this unexpected is that: The user had Face ID configured and actively using it on the device. The user reported that they had not changed their Face ID enrollment. The user reported that they had not changed their device passcode. We are not aware of any MDM restrictions applied to the device. The issue appears to have been transient, as it was reported only for this user. We are trying to better understand under what conditions iOS may return LAError.biometryNotAvailable even when Face ID is configured on the device. Some questions we have: Are there known scenarios where Face ID is enrolled but canEvaluatePolicy(.deviceOwnerAuthenticationWithBiometrics) can temporarily return LAError.biometryNotAvailable? Can iOS return this error during transient system states (e.g., Face ID subsystem restart, device startup, system update, thermal conditions, etc.)? Is there any recommended diagnostic information we should collect to help identify the root cause when this occurs in production? Environment: iOS version: 26.4.2 Device model: iPhone 14 Pro Max LocalAuthentication framework Face ID authentication Any insights into possible causes of this behavior would be appreciated.

What could be the possible reasons for my device getting a Face id hardware failure after updating the phone to 26.4.1? I am suspect there could be some failure connections between TrueDepth sensors and front camera. Can anyone try to help me here

Hi everyone, I’ve been working on an experimental prototype called FaceBridge that explores whether Secure Enclave–backed biometric authorization can be delegated between macOS and iPhone using only public Apple APIs. The goal of the project was to better understand the architectural boundaries of cross-device trust and approval flows that resemble Apple’s built-in Touch ID / Continuity authorization experiences. FaceBridge implements a local authorization pipeline where: macOS generates a signed authorization request the request is delivered to a trusted nearby iPhone over BLE / Network framework the iPhone verifies sender identity Face ID approval is requested using LocalAuthentication the iPhone signs the approval response using Secure Enclave–backed keys macOS validates the response and unlocks a protected action Security properties currently implemented: • Secure Enclave–backed signing identities per device • cryptographic device pairing and trust persistence • replay protection using nonce + timestamp binding • structured authorization request/response envelopes • signed responder identity verification • trusted-device registry model • local encrypted transport over BLE and local network This is intentionally not attempting to intercept or replace system-level Touch ID dialogs (App Store installs, Keychain prompts, loginwindow, etc.), but instead explores what is possible within application-level authorization boundaries using public APIs only. The project is open source: https://github.com/wesleysfavarin/facebridge Technical architecture write-up: https://medium.com/@wesleysfavarin/facebridge I’m particularly interested in feedback around: • recommended Secure Enclave identity lifecycle patterns • best practices for cross-device trust persistence • LocalAuthentication usage in delegated approval scenarios • whether similar authorization models are expected to become more formally supported across Apple platforms in the future Thanks in advance for any guidance or suggestions.

We are using SecItemCopyMatching from LocalAuthentication to access the private key to sign a challenge in our native iOS app twice in a few seconds from user interactions. This was working as expected up until about a week ago where we started getting reports of it hanging on the biometrics screen (see screenshot below). From our investigation we've found the following: It impacts newer iPhones using iOS 26.1 and later. We have replicated on these devices: iPhone 17 Pro max iPhone 16 Pro iPhone 15 Pro max iPhone 15 Only reproducible if the app tries to access the private key twice in quick succession after granting access to face ID. Looks like a race condition between the biometrics permission prompt and Keychain private key access We were able to make it work by waiting 10 seconds between private key actions, but this is terrible UX. We tried adding adding retries over the span of 10 seconds which fixed it on some devices, but not all. We checked the release notes for iOS 26.1, but there is nothing related to this. Screenshot:

Hi Apple Developers, I'm having a problem with evaluatedPolicyDomainState: on the same device, its value keeps changing and then switching back to the original. My current iOS version is 26.1. I upgraded my iOS from version 18.6.2 to 26.1. What could be the potential reasons for this issue? { NSError *error; BOOL success = YES; char *eds = nil; int edslen = 0; LAContext *context = [[LAContext alloc] init]; // test if we can evaluate the policy, this test will tell us if Touch ID is available and enrolled // success = [context canEvaluatePolicy: LAPolicyDeviceOwnerAuthenticationWithBiometrics error:&error]; if (SystemVersion > 9.3) { // test if we can evaluate the policy, this test will tell us if Touch ID is available and enrolled success = [context canEvaluatePolicy: LAPolicyDeviceOwnerAuthentication error:&error]; } else{ // test if we can evaluate the policy, this test will tell us if Touch ID is available and enrolled success = [context canEvaluatePolicy: LAPolicyDeviceOwnerAuthenticationWithBiometrics error:&error]; } if (success) { if (@available(iOS 18.0, *)) { NSData *stateHash = nil; if ([context respondsToSelector:@selector(domainState)]) { stateHash = [[context performSelector:@selector(domainState)] performSelector:@selector(stateHash)]; }else{ stateHash = [context evaluatedPolicyDomainState]; } eds = (char *)stateHash.bytes; edslen = (int)stateHash.length; } else { eds = (char *)[[context evaluatedPolicyDomainState] bytes]; edslen = (int)[[context evaluatedPolicyDomainState] length]; } CC_SHA256(eds, edslen, uviOut); *poutlen = CC_SHA256_DIGEST_LENGTH; } else { *poutlen = 32; gm_memset(uviOut, 0x01, 32); } }

Hi everyone, I'm working on an app that stores multiple secrets in the Keychain, each protected with .userPresence. My goal is to authenticate the user once via FaceID/TouchID and then read multiple Keychain items without triggering subsequent prompts. I am reusing the same LAContext instance for these operations, and I have set: context.touchIDAuthenticationAllowableReuseDuration = LATouchIDAuthenticationMaximumAllowableReuseDuration However, I'm observing that every single SecItemCopyMatching call triggers a new FaceID/TouchID prompt, even if they happen within seconds of each other using the exact same context. Here is a simplified flow of what I'm doing: Create a LAContext. Set touchIDAuthenticationAllowableReuseDuration to max. Perform a query (SecItemCopyMatching) for Item A, passing [kSecUseAuthenticationContext: context]. Result: System prompts for FaceID. Success. Immediately perform a query (SecItemCopyMatching) for Item B, passing the same [kSecUseAuthenticationContext: context]. Result: System prompts for FaceID again. My question is: Does the .userPresence access control flag inherently force a new user interaction for every Keychain access, regardless of the LAContext reuse duration? Is allowableReuseDuration only applicable for LAContext.evaluatePolicy calls and not for SecItem queries? If so, is there a recommended pattern for "unlocking" a group of Keychain items with a single biometric prompt? Environment: iOS 17+, Swift. Thanks!

Where the problem occurs: In-app purchase Non-ApplePay Non-local authentication login Environment where the problem occurs: Sandbox environment (Development environment, TestFlight environment) Problem handling process: Open page A in the app and purchase product B (auto-renewable subscription) on that page. User authentication is required to purchase product B. During the authentication process, the user needs to enter the Apple account and Apple account password. After completing the authentication, complete the purchase of product B. Problem in step 3: Why is FaceID or TouchID not used for authentication? Note: Face ID and Password -> iTunes Store and App Store -> Status is Enabled

Haptic or Sound queue to allow for the accessibility of the blind (sound) and deaf population (haptic) for even knowing when location services and the camera were last used? Also, the grey notification rather than the purple notification for location services should appear for the full 24 hours after an application has used the app, if the correct description is within the "copy" of Settings The green light lets them know that the application has changed to the camera and fade out orange light both could even have subtle simply click sounds, like a shutter, big haptic, softer sound, but editable in Settings, of course

Our app uses Face ID to optionally secure access to the app for device owner. This not the new 'Require Face ID' feature of iOS 18 - this is our own custom implementation that has some other related logic for authentication handling. Starting in iOS 18.3.1, starting the app results in multiple Face Id checks being fired - sometimes just a couple but sometimes many more. Curiously, this is happening even when I completely disable any code we have that prompts for Face ID. It appears to come from nowhere. This does not happen on prior iOS 18 releases so, while I might be doing something improper in the code, something specific has changed in iOS 18.3.1 to cause this issue to manifest. I'm looking for advice as to what could be occurring here, how to debug a Face Id check that appears to come from nowhere, and what, if any, workarounds exist.

Hi, how can you authenticate a User through Biometrics with iPhone Passcode as Fallback in the Autofill Credential Provider Extension? In the App it works without a problem. In the Extension I get "Caller is not running foreground" Yeah, it isn't, as it's just a sheet above e.g. Safari. I'd like to avoid having the user setup a Passcode dedicated to my App, especially because FaceID is way faster. Does anybody know how to achieve iOS native Auth in the extension? Please let me know, a code sample would be appreciated. Regards, Mia

I am developing an app that requires calling the iPhone's Face ID module to scan users' facial data. Where can I find Apple's design resources and guidelines for Face ID? The Face ID resources available in Figma are incomplete, and I need more support. For example, in the iPhone settings, the scenario: the UI interface for scanning the user's face to collect data, specifically the circular design in the "How to Set Up Face ID" screen.

I am working on improving Keychain item storage secured with Face ID using SecAccessControlCreateWithFlags. The implementation uses the .biometryAny flag as shown below: SecAccessControlCreateWithFlags( kCFAllocatorDefault, kSecAttrAccessibleWhenUnlockedThisDeviceOnly, .biometryAny, &error ) While this approach generally works as expected, I encountered a specific edge case during testing. On iOS 18.3.1 with Xcode 15.4, the following sequence causes the Keychain item to become inaccessible: Navigate to Settings > Face ID & Passcode and select Reset Face ID. Before setting up a new Face ID, tap the Back button to exit the setup process. Reopen the Face ID setup and complete the enrollment. Return to the app—previously stored Keychain items protected by .biometryAny are no longer available. This behavior appears to be a change introduced in recent iOS versions. In versions prior to iOS 15, resetting or deleting Face ID entries did not invalidate existing Keychain items protected by .biometryAny. This difference in behavior between iOS versions raises questions about the changes to biometric protection handling. Any suggestions are welcomed that might shine a light on what the best practice to use keychain access control and prevent the data to become unavailable.

Current Setup: Using Secure Enclave with userPresence access control Foreground keychain accessibility: whenPasscodeSetThisDeviceOnly Security Requirement: Our security group wants us to invalidate biometrics and require a username/password if a biometric item is added (potentially by a hostile 3rd party) Need to upgrade from userPresence to biometricCurrentSet to ensure re-authentication when biometric credentials change. Issue: After implementing biometricCurrentSet, authentication cancels after two failed biometric attempts instead of falling back to passcode. Current Detection Method: User completes initial biometric authentication Biometric changes occur (undetectable by app) App attempts Secure Enclave access Access denial triggers re-authentication requirement Cannot revoke refresh token after access is denied Security Concern: Current implementation allows new biometric enrollments to access existing authenticated sessions without re-verification. Question: What's the recommended approach to: Implement biometricCurrentSet while maintaining passcode fallback Properly handle refresh token invalidation when biometric credentials change Looking for guidance on best practices for implementing these security requirements while maintaining good UX.

I wanted to add the above capability to my up was checking in Background mode, but no availability. How can I add it.

When using Apple's Journal app through iPhone Mirroring, the user is allowed to authenticate via TouchID on the Mac instead of requiring you to unlock your phone, authenticate and then re-lock it to access it again in iPhone Mirroring. Any other app that's using a call to authenticate via FaceID can't do this under iPhone Mirroring. Is there a new API call for this, or is it still a private API for Apple only?

I currently do FaceID validation in my apps but it looks like Apple is offering FaceID ad the App level. Does this mean we still need to or can code for it in iOS 18 apps? Right now I've been working on migrating to iOS 18 using beta but my swift code just returns an "unknown error". From a developer perspective I can't find any examples or guidance on how handle FaceID currently in iOS 18 or going forward. Anyone have any insights or resources. This is the code that used to work but now under iOS 18 returns the error. Maybe the simulator and swift have not caught up but I don't think so given that it's been two beta release that I know of where this has not worked. class biometric { class func authenticateUser() async -> (Bool, Error?) { let context = LAContext() var error: NSError? if context.canEvaluatePolicy(.deviceOwnerAuthenticationWithBiometrics, error: &error) { let biometryType = context.biometryType var reason = "Authenticate with \(biometryType)" if biometryType == .faceID { reason = "Authenticate with Face ID" } else if biometryType == .touchID { reason = "Authenticate with Touch ID" } do { let success = try await context.evaluatePolicy(.deviceOwnerAuthenticationWithBiometrics, localizedReason: reason) LogEvent.print(module: "Authentication.biometric.authenticateUser", message: "Biometric authentication. success: \"\(success)\".") return (success, nil) } catch let evaluationError as LAError { LogEvent.print(module: "Authentication.biometric.authenticateUser", message: "Biometric authentication failed. evaluationError: \"\(evaluationError.localizedDescription)\"") handleEvaluationError(evaluationError) I do get past the .canEvaluatePolicy but fail on the .evaluatePolicy

I locked a few Apps like YouTube and my browser with the new App Lock feature from IOS 18 and all works well, if I want to access the app over the home screen. The problem appears if the app is closed completely and I open a link which gets opened in the locked app. Then the App lock gets bypassed and the app opens completely without authentication.

Hi, Is this possible? I would like to: Store a biometrically secured key in the Secure Enclave. Do multiple cryptographic operations using that key in a short period of time (say 5 seconds), not all at once. Only do one FaceID for that set. For the time I've only gotten either multiple flashing FaceId requests or the operations failing. Is it possible to set a time limit in which the first FaceID authentication is accepted? Should I do something else? Thanks!

my phone wouldn’t recognize my face so I tried resetting faceid but setting it up wasn’t working, it keeps saying on the screen move phone lower or higher and blurs the background and it just won’t proceed with the setup, I did a diagnostics report with apple support and it showed that there was no problems and that it might be because I’m using the iOS beta updates, so can you fix it with the next update, I even tried taking off my screen protector and my case thinking they might be the problem but it wasn’t resolved

How app knows that Require Face ID is enable for them? How app knows that they active after successfully authenticate by iOS 18 Require Face ID feature? If any app implement any Extension(In my case Action Extension and Autofill Credential provider) then how they extension knows that they active after successfully authenticate by iOS 18 Require Face ID feature? is there any app notification or any api to help me out?