Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Google just announced a face unlock feature for the upcoming Pixel 4, which claims to be just as accurate and fast as the iPhone’s Face ID. There have been hardware and code leaks that suggested this feature was coming to the Pixel 4, but there was also another big hint: Google has been publicly gathering data to improve it.

As first revealed by ZDNet and Android Police, Google employees have been roving the streets of American cities, offering $5 gift certificates in exchange for a facial scan. Reached by The Verge, Google confirmed that it has been conducting what it calls “field research” to collect face-scanning data in order to improve its algorithms and thereby improve the Pixel 4’s accuracy.

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