- Google has added a new setting that lets you use your Pixel’s Fingerprint Unlock even when its screen is off.
- Previously, your Pixel’s screen had to be turned on in order for its fingerprint sensor to be active.
- We spotted the new setting in the latest Android 16 developer preview.
Fingerprint scanners provide a handy and secure way to unlock your smartphone, but they aren’t always actively scanning for fingerprints. This is only really an issue with under-display fingerprint scanners, though, as oftentimes the screen needs to be woken first before the device activates the fingerprint scanner. Every Pixel phone with an under-display fingerprint scanner works like this, but fortunately, that might not be the case for much longer.
Google released the second developer preview of Android 16 earlier today, and while digging through the update, I discovered a new setting called “Screen-off Fingerprint Unlock” under Settings > Security & privacy > Device unlock > Face & Fingerprint Unlock > Fingerprint Unlock. Its description says that you can “use Fingerprint Unlock even when the screen is off.”