[latchkey]

> If my non-technical parents said they were migrating all their accounts to passkeys, I would be very pleased. I wouldn't be worried about their inability to change their biometrics

My 76 yr old dad can't do it. His phone is some shitty android trash that when he's setting up his biometrics, he shakes a bit, and it never stores the finger data correctly. I have to hold his finger and his phone at the same time to even scan it. Then, unlocking is also super unreliable because of the shaking. He refuses to get a better phone cause this one "works well enough."

[sam345]

This is so true - most older people I've worked with have major problems with touch devices. No one has come up with a satisfactory solution. This is not a new problem - I remember working with my grandfather in his 80's on a 286 equipped with a mouse - his arthritis prevented him from accurately positioning the mouse. Today's touch interfaces are far worse. And fingerprint scans are very difficult to get right and use with older people. Maybe face scans are fine but I've never trusted them. Regardless of security logins, there are a host of other issues - complex navigation, complex and confusing layouts (especially desktop), and hard to manipulate controls. One example, a simple zoom or skype call - why hasn't anyone ever developed a simple device to allow for same without having to use intricate controls. I've always imagined something similar to the video enabled nest or alexa devices but with physical knobs and push buttons. There's a very large market being ignored for some reason.

[ryandrake]

> There's a very large market being ignored for some reason.

It's no surprise that the tech industry, which largely employs urban, educated 20-somethings and 30-somethings, tends to produce products aimed at urban, educated 20-somethings and 30-somethings.

[anonymouskimmer]

> No one has come up with a satisfactory solution.

Stick your finger inside of a dynamically sizing aperture, or clip a finger reader onto your finger? If both the finger and the reader shake the same there shouldn't be a problem.

That doesn't solve the general touch issue, but it solves this particular case.

[latchkey]

Forcing my dad to carry around and stick something on his finger just to get into his device, seems rather overkill, don't you think?

[anonymouskimmer]

People carry around earpods, keychains, wallets. What's one more little dongle on a keychain?

But sure, I agree (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35790638 ). I'm just trying to come up with some workable solution. Not trying to make the best of all possible worlds.

[latchkey]

Let me guess, you're not a 76 year old man.

[nitwit005]

It might not be that the android is crappy. Some people's fingerprints stop being readable as they age, and there are various injuries and diseases that have that result.

Essentially every biometric has a population they won't function well with.