Question

As we know Android ICS provides Face Unlock option to lock the screen in Settings->Security->Screen lock.

Is there a way to programmatically enable Face Locking using DevicePolicyManager, like enabling password restriction from MDM?

I have gone through the DevicePolicyManager class in API Level 16, but could not find it.
Is there any alternative to achieve this?

Thanks.

Answer 1

Face Unlock is controlled by the PASSWORD_QUALITY_BIOMETRIC_WEAK flag, and is used with setPasswordQuality.

For example, this code will require that the user has a Face Unlock password (or better) set, and will prompt them to update their password if needed:

DevicePolicyManager mDPM = (DevicePolicyManager)
        context.getSystemService(Context.DEVICE_POLICY_SERVICE);
ComponentName mPolicyAdmin = new ComponentName(context, PolicyAdmin.class);

// Enforce Face Unlock or better for new passwords
mDPM.setPasswordQuality(mPolicyAdmin,
                        DevicePolicyManager.PASSWORD_QUALITY_BIOMETRIC_WEAK);

// Prompt user to upgrade password if necessary
if (!mDPM.isActivePasswordSufficient()) {
    Intent intent = new Intent(DevicePolicyManager.ACTION_SET_NEW_PASSWORD);
    startActivity(intent);
}