Facial authentication with Howdy
Futurists and entrepreneurs have long been obsessed with the idea of biometric authentication. Every body is unique – could the unique features of your anatomy be used to prove that you are you? Police departments have used fingerprints to identify suspects for years, and several computer systems now allow fingerprint authentication. But for many researchers, the holy grail for biometric authentication has always been facial recognition.
The human brain authenticates humans through facial recognition all the time: That is what happens when you "recognize" someone. Of course, when a camera takes a picture of a person, it is most likely a picture of a face. Your face is looking at your laptop or phone all the time. What could be more convenient than just training your electronic device to look back at you and determine if the face is familiar?
Windows Hello technology, which is built into Microsoft systems, gives Windows users an option for facial identification. The Linux community can now access facial identification through an open source application known as Howdy [1]. Lem Severein from the Netherlands has been developing Howdy for more than four years, and the software is currently available on GitHub.
[...]
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.

News
-
LibreOffice 25.2 Has Arrived
If you've been hoping for a release that offers more UI customizations, you're in for a treat.
-
TuxCare Has a Big AlmaLinux 9 Announcement in Store
TuxCare announced it has successfully completed a Security Technical Implementation Guide for AlmaLinux OS 9.
-
First Release Candidate for Linux Kernel 6.14 Now Available
Linus Torvalds has officially released the first release candidate for kernel 6.14 and it includes over 500,000 lines of modified code, making for a small release.
-
System76 Refreshes Meerkat Mini PC
If you're looking for a small form factor PC powered by Linux, System76 has exactly what you need in the Meerkat mini PC.
-
Gnome 48 Alpha Ready for Testing
The latest Gnome desktop alpha is now available with plenty of new features and improvements.
-
Wine 10 Includes Plenty to Excite Users
With its latest release, Wine has the usual crop of bug fixes and improvements, along with some exciting new features.
-
Linux Kernel 6.13 Offers Improvements for AMD/Apple Users
The latest Linux kernel is now available, and it includes plenty of improvements, especially for those who use AMD or Apple-based systems.
-
Gnome 48 Debuts New Audio Player
To date, the audio player found within the Gnome desktop has been meh at best, but with the upcoming release that all changes.
-
Plasma 6.3 Ready for Public Beta Testing
Plasma 6.3 will ship with KDE Gear 24.12.1 and KDE Frameworks 6.10, along with some new and exciting features.
-
Budgie 10.10 Scheduled for Q1 2025 with a Surprising Desktop Update
If Budgie is your desktop environment of choice, 2025 is going to be a great year for you.