# Uber introduces human reviewers to crack down on drivers evading its 'security selfie' system with printed photos



## KevinH (Jul 13, 2014)

https://www.businessinsider.com/uber-introduces-human-reviewers-security-selfie-system-2019-9[/URL]


Jenni Ryall,
Business Insider Australia










Drew Angerer/Getty Images

*Uber has introduced human reviewers to help detect unauthorized drivers on its app and protect the safety of passengers.*
*It follows a trial in Melbourne, in which an unauthorized Uber driver used a fake photograph in 2018 to pass a security check in the app which led to the rape of a woman in his home.*
*In 2018, Uber did not have the technology to distinguish between a paper photograph of a person and a selfie of the actual person.*
*Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.*

Uber has introduced human reviewers and facial recognition technology to help detect when an unauthorized driver uses a fake photograph to pass a security check and drive a car registered to someone else.
The move follows a rape case in Melbourne, Australia in which an unapproved Uber driver was able to bypass "selfie security" checks on the app and was using a friend's account on the night he raped a local woman in her 20's.
Manpreet Singh was convicted on Wednesday of raping the intoxicated woman at his house after picking her up in his car in Melbourne. During the trial, it was revealed Uber's app had a security flaw that allowed fraudulent drivers not registered to the app to fool the system and pick up passengers.

Singh had used an A4 photograph of an authorized driver to pass the security test that requires drivers to take a selfie before driving their vehicle, according to The Age.
Uber's "real time ID check" tool, also known as "security selfies", was rolled out in the US in 2016 and arrived in Australia in 2017. It randomly requests Uber drivers to take a selfie before they begin a ride. The tech, which utilizes Microsoft's facial recognition technology, is meant to help prevent the issue of people using cars and Uber accounts registered to other people.
According to The Age, this technology loophole is being used to run illegal rackets involving up to 10 vehicles and multiple employees under a single authorized account.

*Read more:*_Uber and Lyft just took a major blow in California, and now they're gearing up for war_

In online forums posts prior to 2016 seen by Business Insider Australia, self-identified Uber drivers asked others how to beat the identification system, and were advised to use an existing photograph instead of taking a new photo. It is a breach of community guidelines for someone other than the registered driver to operate an Uber account.
In a statement to Business Insider Australia, Uber denied that this is a current issue. However, Singh's case appears to show that technology was not advanced enough in 2018 to distinguish between a photograph and a face.
*Uber says it has updated its facial ID checks*








Pablo Blazquez Dominguez / Getty

A spokesperson for Uber said the company has made strides since last year to improve its safety technology and implement Microsoft's facial recognition technology.

Uber confirmed to Business Insider Australia that it introduced fraud detection technology and a human review process in 2019.
"Uber utilizes a security feature called real-time ID check alongside real-time human review and fraud detection technology. Among other checks, this technology can check that the image is not an image of another photo," an Uber spokesperson said.
"Together these help prevent fraud and protect riders by building another layer of accountability into the app to ensure the right person is behind the wheel."
In late 2018, it also introduced security features including an in-app emergency button for both riders and drivers, the ability to share your trip with others and, more recently, notifications that ask people to check their ride and driver details and contact them immediately if there is a mismatch.

"We also provide driver photos in the app so riders can confirm it's the right person picking them up. If the driver doesn't match the photo, report it to Uber right away so we can take action," the Uber spokesperson said.
The introduction of advanced security features - in particular the "check your ride" functionality - also follows the death in April of a University of South Carolina student who was murdered by a man she thought was her Uber driver but actually had no connection to the company.
Some Uber drivers have complained in online forums about the technology which has become more strict, and about the fact that they need clear lighting and have to take a photo multiple times to be approved to continue driving. The robustness of the system is good news for passengers, but it may be making things more difficult for legitimate drivers.
Victoria Police said it works closely with rideshare companies with regards to the safety of passengers.

"Victoria Police consults closely with stakeholders such as rideshare services to share intelligence and advice on ways we can work collaboratively to prevent and investigate crime. We are always looking at ways we can improve these relationships and combat any emerging crime issues," a police spokesperson said.


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## njn (Jan 23, 2016)

"The tech, which utilizes Microsoft's facial recognition technology"

so, blame microsoft?


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## uberdriverfornow (Jan 10, 2016)

you mean they are going to get serious about something they already should have been serious about ? ok


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## Cold Fusion (Aug 28, 2019)

njn said:


> "The tech, which utilizes Microsoft's facial recognition technology"
> 
> so, blame microsoft?


LOL, uber Drivers always play the Blame Game.
Dirt bag drivers fooling the system and raping women......it's Microsoft's Fault ??


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## Kodyhead (May 26, 2015)

KevinH said:


> https://www.businessinsider.com/uber-introduces-human-reviewers-security-selfie-system-2019-9[/URL]
> 
> 
> Jenni Ryall,
> ...


How many weeks till the humans get to the point where they just say f uber and just click approved while watching the masked singer?



Cold Fusion said:


> LOL, uber Drivers always play the Blame Game.
> Dirt bag drivers fooling the system and raping women......it's Microsoft's Fault ??


Mac is so much better for raping


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## jocker12 (May 11, 2017)

This is also a problem with electric scooters destruction or scooters being thrown on the ground at the end of a regular ride. The "How to survive renting one of Chicago's renting scooters" column, mentions how "Both Lyft's and Jump's apps asked to allow access to the smartphone camera, because *you need to take a picture of the scooter at the end of the ride to prove you parked it properly*."

Why not carry a picture in your pocket or your wallet, and after you've thrown the scooter on the ground and probably damaged it, take a picture to the already existing picture from your pocket, with a well-parked scooter, out of pedestrians walking path?

This









instead of this


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## Don'tchasethesurge (Dec 27, 2016)

Good! They finally figure out that rohit spends way too much time surfing the net! Now he needs to do more!


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## tohunt4me (Nov 23, 2015)

KevinH said:


> https://www.businessinsider.com/uber-introduces-human-reviewers-security-selfie-system-2019-9[/URL]
> 
> 
> Jenni Ryall,
> ...


" MICROSOFT" - WITH BACKDOOR BUILT IN
WORSE THAN GOOGLE D.A.R.P.A. !


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## jocker12 (May 11, 2017)

tohunt4me said:


> " MICROSOFT" - WITH BACKDOOR BUILT IN
> WORSE THAN GOOGLE D.A.R.P.A. !


It is the computer pattern recognition software (improperly called "Artificial Intelligence") impossible to rectify error rate, tech companies use to accelerate their operations with. Here is what could go wrong with it
https://www.technologyreview.com/s/614246/ai-image-recognition-improves-disaster-response/https://www.propublica.org/article/machine-bias-risk-assessments-in-criminal-sentencinghttps://mindmatters.ai/2019/08/lazy-engineers-treat-ai-as-magic/https://www.statnews.com/2019/06/19/what-if-ai-in-health-care-is-next-asbestos/


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## New2This (Dec 27, 2015)

How about using the fingerprint sensor on new phones to match fingerprints? 

Oh wait Uber/Lyft don't want fingerprinting. Never mind.


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## SuperDumped (Sep 6, 2019)

amazing technology can be spoofed by a picture now those sharing accounts will stop being lazy & knock on their roomates door or drive 5-20 minutes to their friends, cousins, whoevers house & have them verify the selfie

oh nose a 20 minute at most time out and fake driver back in the road

its not like drivers share accounts in different markets as a geo fence can prevent that as well as the state the drivers license is in

complete waste of time & resources but its uber so par for the course


its the riders accounts that need an i.d. to be verified , 16 drivers in brazil were murdered by this lack of friction


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## Lee239 (Mar 24, 2017)

Why can't any of the genius engineers they have stolen from other companies figure out a way for the know if what they are viewing is a flat image or a 3d face? Maybe have the person blink too.

How bout they ask pax to report drivers who do not look like their driver photo?


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## SuperDumped (Sep 6, 2019)

jocker12 said:


> This is also a problem with electric scooters destruction or scooters being thrown on the ground at the end of a regular ride. The "How to survive renting one of Chicago's renting scooters" column, mentions how "Both Lyft's and Jump's apps asked to allow access to the smartphone camera, because *you need to take a picture of the scooter at the end of the ride to prove you parked it properly*."
> 
> Why not carry a picture in your pocket or your wallet, and after you've thrown the scooter on the ground and probably damaged it, take a picture to the already existing picture from your pocket, with a well-parked scooter, out of pedestrians walking path?
> 
> ...


time stamp and exif data on the photo but then they could just take a picture of the picture doh



Lee239 said:


> Why can't any of the genius engineers they have stolen from other companies figure out a way for the know if what they are viewing is a flat image or a 3d face? Maybe have the person blink too.
> 
> How bout they ask pax to report drivers who do not look like their driver photo?


most pax dont care, most pax dont look up from their phone long enough to notice, most pax think all minorities look the same....

my profile pic was prince 1st 2000 rides only 1 pax mentioned it, i don't want pax able to screen shot & share my pic with the world without compensation so i pic the afro out & make sure i look nothing like my profile pic

its a useless feature that puts all honest drivers bio metric data open to hackers & identity theft to stop the way less than 1% of drivers who share accounts that can bypass in minutes with a picture or spending 1-20minutes traveling to whoever their sharing an account with to have them verify

it asks maybe once every month or few its security theater


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## O-Side Uber (Jul 26, 2017)

How in the F did Uber not consider that drivers would hold up a photo to the camera ?. High tech defeated by an old school photograph .


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## jocker12 (May 11, 2017)

SuperDumped said:


> time stamp and exif data on the photo but then they could just take a picture of the picture doh


Yes, you need to have a printed out picture. The rideshare app won't allow the use of an already existing photo from your smartphone memory, so you need to allow access to the camera. You need to have a physical printed out picture to point the camera at and take a new digital picture to the already existing printed out picture. All the data on the new digital picture would reflect the moment you took the new digital picture.



O-Side Uber said:


> How in the F did Uber not consider that drivers would hold up a photo to the camera ?. High tech defeated by an old school photograph .


Because Silicon Valley geeks are brilliant at technology but extremely stupid when it comes to understanding people behavior/psychology and economics.



Lee239 said:


> Why can't any of the genius engineers they have stolen from other companies figure out a way for the know if what they are viewing is a flat image or a 3d face?


Because a smartphone camera doesn't detect 3D images. It only sees the visible electromagnetic ways spectrum (as light is reflected by objects surfaces - like the human eye) and translates it to data (digital pictures or images) or causes a chemical change to the photographic film inside the camera (traditional cameras).


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## Lee239 (Mar 24, 2017)

jocker12 said:


> Because a smartphone camera doesn't detect 3D images. It only sees the visible electromagnetic ways spectrum (as light is reflected by objects surfaces - like the human eye) and translates it to data (digital pictures or images) or causes a chemical change to the photographic film inside the camera (traditional cameras).


So I guess Iphones and other cameras that let you unlock your phone with your face have better tech.


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## XPG (Oct 4, 2017)

An unapproved Uber driver using a friend's account on the night he raped a local woman in her 20's.??


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## jocker12 (May 11, 2017)

Lee239 said:


> So I guess Iphones and other cameras that let you unlock your phone with your face have better tech.


It is about the hardware and the software.
This is pattern recognition









This is low-resolution image reconstruction.









If you look at the top image, the 32x32 lady pic sample shows a different lady than the ground truth pic on the right. The left, 8x8 is the input.
This shows how the software (the "A.I.") makes a big mistake (the middle) when trying to rebuild the actual face (right) from the low res input (on the left).

The way humans see in 3D is the model our brain recreates using images coming from 2 eyes, That's why 3D cameras have 2 or even 3 lenses.









3D cameras



















If a smartphone has 2 lenses or more, with the right software, yes it could capture 3D images. The problem you have is with the way the pattern recognition software ("A.I.") analyzes that image (because in order to see 3D pattern you need to slightly ROTATE the 3D subject in the image).

A simple image has only 2 dimensions (height and width) and is missing the 3rd (depth). The only way to have a 3D file analyzed by the software is a gif. or short video rotating image.

A smartphone could do that very quickly because the entire process is done locally, by your device, but a verification system for a service includes uploading your file to a company cloud-based data center, and that, depending on your location, signal strength or service download-upload restrictions, could take time.

Edit
Here is a slide









From this PowerPoint online short presentation - https://www.slideshare.net/MazinAlwaaly/pattern-recognition-3d-face-recognition


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## Ajaywill (Jul 4, 2017)

Lee239 said:


> ....How bout they ask pax to report drivers who do not look like their driver photo?


You mean the photo that the rider won't look at while she is demanding that the driver tell them the name of the person they are picking up?


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## Mista T (Aug 16, 2017)

Oh.

Brother.


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## TPAMB (Feb 13, 2019)

Jesus!


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## uberdriverfornow (Jan 10, 2016)

Maybe they will get smart and put a human reviewer on pax DUI reports.

Probably not.


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## Mole (Mar 9, 2017)

Damn they are on to me.


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## Brooklyn (Jul 29, 2014)

That’s exactly why I didn’t implement the facial recognition on a project I’m working on... camera isn’t good enough to distinguish a photo from a real person. 

Considering adding voice recognition as a 2 step authentication.


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## Frontier Guy (Dec 27, 2015)

Meanwhile, riders can still not have a pic, use a fake pic, use a cartoon or some other modified pic.



Lee239 said:


> Why can't any of the genius engineers they have stolen from other companies figure out a way for the know if what they are viewing is a flat image or a 3d face? Maybe have the person blink too.
> 
> How bout they ask pax to report drivers who do not look like their driver photo?


Because then they might have to start forcing pax to have their own real photo


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## GoldenGoji (Apr 30, 2018)

Just the other day I was joking about this on how to avoid those pesky selfie "security" checks. I said take a picture, put it on a head shaped cardboard and then put it in front of the phone lol! Didn't know this was already being used by people, let alone, rapists!


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## goneubering (Aug 17, 2017)

GoldenGoji said:


> Just the other day I was joking about this on how to avoid those pesky selfie "security" checks. I said take a picture, put it on a head shaped cardboard and then put it in front of the phone lol! Didn't know this was already being used by people, let alone, rapists!


I've seen posters here talk about using pix to bypass security. Uber really should have done better.


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## The Entomologist (Sep 23, 2018)

Boy, you have no idea what is being used to selfie shit today, make sure you hire a TON of ****ers to do that job, let's make you bleed money, they will still be fooled by the shit I developed to bypass your idiotic selfie recognition no matter how much you pay them or how many you have.


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## GoldenGoji (Apr 30, 2018)

I just realized that silicone masks can be easily made now by hobbyists. They can make casts of faces (or body parts...) and then paint them to life-like realism. Hair is pretty easy to add. I wonder who would spend all that time making and painting a silicone mask though. Maybe criminals like in the story.


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## The Entomologist (Sep 23, 2018)

GoldenGoji said:


> I just realized that silicone masks can be easily made now by hobbyists. They can make casts of faces (or body parts...) and then paint them to life-like realism. Hair is pretty easy to add. I wonder who would spend all that time making and painting a silicone mask though. Maybe criminals like in the story.


Lol, that's a good idea but it's not even needed.


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## REX HAVOC (Jul 4, 2016)

uberdriverfornow said:


> you mean they are going to get serious about something they already should have been serious about ? ok


Yeah, like not giving accounts to minors.


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## SELFIEMODE (Sep 28, 2019)

jocker12 said:


> Yes, you need to have a printed out picture. The rideshare app won't allow the use of an already existing photo from your smartphone memory, so you need to allow access to the camera. You need to have a physical printed out picture to point the camera at and take a new digital picture to the already existing printed out picture. All the data on the new digital picture would reflect the moment you took the new digital picture.
> 
> 
> Because Silicon Valley geeks are brilliant at technology but extremely stupid when it comes to understanding people behavior/psychology and economics.
> ...


***So Does this really work? Printing a picture of a picture and then taking a Uber selfie with it? Ask for a friend


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## tohunt4me (Nov 23, 2015)

New2This said:


> How about using the fingerprint sensor on new phones to match fingerprints?
> 
> Oh wait Uber/Lyft don't want fingerprinting. Never mind.


BIG BROTHER LOVES YOU !

CHAMPION THEIR CAUSE.



jocker12 said:


> It is about the hardware and the software.
> This is pattern recognition
> View attachment 355810
> 
> ...


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YOU are being " Herded".



TPAMB said:


> Jesus!


no.

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I ASK YOU THIS.
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## jocker12 (May 11, 2017)

tohunt4me said:


> FREE CATALOGUING FOR " GLOBAL I.D. 2030"!
> 
> JUST WHAT GLOBALIST BANKERS ORDERED !
> 
> ...


For many good and bad reasons, that was the initial intent - surveillance. But the faulty nobody knows how it works A.I. (actually a simple pattern recognition software) is doing important damage and it would be gradually removed from systems that were built to incorporate it.

"But last month the system wrongly matched one in five Californian politicians with images from a database of 25,000 wanted criminals' mugshots in tests by the American Civil Liberties Union.
Facial recognition remains highly controversial. A number of US states have banned its use by city personnel, although private companies can still use the technology.
Earlier this month, MPs across parties in the UK called for an immediate "stop" to live facial recognition surveillance by the police and in public places.
A report from security and defence think tank the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) also recently warned that British police officials have reservations about the use of predictive policing algorithms, calling them imprecise and biased."
from
https://www.theregister.co.uk/2019/09/27/amazon_facial_recognition_regulations/


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## tohunt4me (Nov 23, 2015)

jocker12 said:


> For many good and bad reasons, that was the initial intent - surveillance. But the faulty nobody knows how it works A.I. (actually a simple pattern recognition software) is doing important damage and it would be gradually removed from systems that were built to incorporate it.
> 
> "But last month the system wrongly matched one in five Californian politicians with images from a database of 25,000 wanted criminals' mugshots in tests by the American Civil Liberties Union.
> Facial recognition remains highly controversial. A number of US states have banned its use by city personnel, although private companies can still use the technology.
> ...


COMMON TRAITS

matches Politicians to Wanted Criminals !

Same " Intent"

Dogs & A.I. can see it.



jocker12 said:


> For many good and bad reasons, that was the initial intent - surveillance. But the faulty nobody knows how it works A.I. (actually a simple pattern recognition software) is doing important damage and it would be gradually removed from systems that were built to incorporate it.
> 
> "But last month the system wrongly matched one in five Californian politicians with images from a database of 25,000 wanted criminals' mugshots in tests by the American Civil Liberties Union.
> Facial recognition remains highly controversial. A number of US states have banned its use by city personnel, although private companies can still use the technology.
> ...


" PREDICTIVE POLICING ALGORITHMS"

SEE
where this is going ?


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## SELFIEMODE (Sep 28, 2019)

SELFIEMODE said:


> ***So Does this really work? Printing a picture of a picture and then taking a Uber selfie with it? Ask for a friend :wink:


I get a like but no comment. Cant see how this will work...


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## jocker12 (May 11, 2017)

SELFIEMODE said:


> I get a like but no comment. Cant see how this will work...


The main post says


KevinH said:


> In online forums posts prior to 2016 seen by Business Insider Australia, self-identified Uber drivers asked others *how to beat the identification system*, and were advised to *use an existing photograph instead of taking a new photo*. It is a breach of community guidelines for someone other than the registered driver to operate an Uber account.


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## Mr. Yuck (Jul 31, 2017)

I was deactivated because a pax insisted I was not the person portrayed on my profile. I was even wearing the same shirt. That was the only time I almost wrecked because of something a pax said. Weirder still, his wife was on my side and still he called Lyft and reported someone else driving on my account.

By the time that ride was over I wasn't sure I was me either. Messed with my epistemology, he did. 

All I could figure was that he'd forgotten his meds.


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## OrlUberOffDriver (Oct 27, 2014)

Instead of tapping to accept a ride, would the fingerprint to accept a ride work?!


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## jocker12 (May 11, 2017)

OrlUberOffDriver said:


> Instead of tapping to accept a ride, would the fingerprint to accept a ride work?!


The smartphone screen doesn't have any sensors to read a fingerprint.

The iPhone has a sensor in the Home button


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## OrlUberOffDriver (Oct 27, 2014)

jocker12 said:


> The smartphone screen doesn't have any sensors to read a fingerprint.
> 
> The iPhone has a sensor in the Home button


Oh I see! So, if you don't have an iPhone....you got a dumb phone?


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## jocker12 (May 11, 2017)

OrlUberOffDriver said:


> Oh I see! So, if you don't have an iPhone....you got a dumb phone?


I just gave you the iPhone example because the sensor is easy to identify, but still, an Android smartphone has to have a fingerprint scanner/sensor installed. Basically, the screen is a display and cannot capture images (only a camera does), sense skin contrast or use ultrasonic technology on its *entire surface*.

Here is an article about how fingerprint sensors work
https://www.androidauthority.com/how-fingerprint-scanners-work-670934/
Here is an article from 2018 with a list of all the smartphones with a fingerprint scanner installed. In order to use that feature, you should place your finger *particularly on the sensor* (which could be located under a small and very specific spot of the screen) , so a tap on any area on the screen won't work.
https://webcusp.com/list-of-all-fingerprint-scanner-enabled-smartphones/


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