How to Add a Second Face to Face ID (Alternate Look)

Face ID officially supports one face, but Apple quietly built in a second slot called an alternate appearance. It was designed for the same person with a very different look, such as with and without glasses, a beard, or a head covering.

Many families also use this slot for a partner or parent who shares the phone. That works technically, but it comes with real security consequences that you should understand before enrolling anyone else.

This guide shows how to add the second face, how to make it recognise reliably, and how to remove it later if you change your mind.

Quick Answer

To add a second face to Face ID, go to Settings, Face ID and Passcode, enter your passcode, and tap Set Up an Alternate Appearance. The second person (or your second look) then completes the two head-circle scans in good light. The second face gets the same full access as the first, including unlocking the phone and approving Face ID payments and apps.

Before You Add Anyone: The Security Reality

Face ID does not distinguish between the first and second enrolled face. Whoever is enrolled can do everything the phone owner can do with biometrics.

• They can unlock the phone whenever they like.
• They can approve Apple Pay purchases if Face ID is enabled for payments.
• They can open banking, password-manager and other apps protected by Face ID.
• They can change some settings that ask for Face ID confirmation.

For your own alternate look, none of this matters. For another person, only enrol someone you trust completely, such as a spouse, and never a child old enough to make purchases unsupervised. Consider giving them your passcode rules instead, or use Guided Access style sharing for single apps.

Step by Step: Add the Alternate Appearance

The process is identical to the first enrolment and takes about two minutes. Light matters: choose a bright room with even lighting.

1. Open Settings and tap Face ID and Passcode.
2. Enter YOUR passcode to open the menu.
3. Tap Set Up an Alternate Appearance.
4. Hand the phone to the second person, or keep it if this is your own second look.
5. They position their face in the frame and slowly move their head in a circle, twice, as guided.
6. Tap Done, then test by locking the phone and unlocking with the second face.

If you cannot see the alternate appearance option, Face ID may not be set up yet, or the menu differs on your iOS version. Setting up Face ID from scratch first makes the option appear.

Make the Second Face Recognise Reliably

Second-slot enrolments fail more often than first ones, usually because they were rushed or done in poor light. A few habits make a big difference.

• Enrol in the same kind of light the phone is usually unlocked in.
• Complete the head circles slowly. Fast movements produce a poor face map.
• If the person wears glasses most of the time, enrol with glasses on and add the no-glasses look only if needed.
• Retest in the evening under indoor light, and re-enrol if failures are frequent.

If both faces still fail regularly, the stored data may be the problem rather than the people. Our guide on resetting Face ID and setting it up again explains the clean-start process, which clears both faces so you can enrol them freshly.

How to Remove the Second Face

There is no separate delete button for the alternate appearance. Removing the second face means resetting Face ID completely and re-enrolling only the face or faces you want to keep.

1. Go to Settings, Face ID and Passcode.
2. Tap Reset Face ID. Both faces are deleted.
3. Tap Set Up Face ID and enrol the primary face again.
4. Add an alternate appearance only if you still want one.

This also makes a clean way to revoke access if a relationship changes or a shared phone changes hands. While you are at it, change the passcode too, because anyone who knew it keeps a route into the phone.

Second Face for Your Own Two Looks: Best Practice

If you are using the alternate slot for yourself rather than another person, a little planning makes both looks work beautifully. Choose as your primary enrolment the version of you that unlocks the phone most often, in your most typical setting. For many people that is without glasses at home, or with glasses at a desk.

Make the alternate appearance genuinely different in the way that matters to the camera: glasses on versus off, beard versus clean-shaven after a big change, or with the head covering you wear daily. Minor differences, like a different hairstyle with the same glasses, rarely need the slot because Face ID adapts to gradual changes by itself.

Avoid wasting the slot on a seasonal novelty (a holiday hat, a one-week beard experiment) that you will reverse in days; re-enrolling the alternate is easy but each change is another reset of the learning the system has done. And remember the practical test: after setting up both looks, lock the phone and try each appearance five times in your normal lighting. Five clean unlocks in a row from each look means the setup is done; patchy results mean re-enrol in better light rather than hoping it improves.

Common Mistakes and Helpful Tips

• Do not enrol a second face as a surprise or test without telling the person. Their face data is stored on the phone until Face ID is reset.
• A child’s face is a poor enrolment. Children’s features change fast, and Face ID is less reliable under the age of 13.
• If a partner only needs occasional access, the passcode is a safer share than a permanent face slot.
• Identical twins and young siblings can sometimes unlock each other’s Face ID. Keep that in mind for shared-family phones.

Apple’s own documentation describes the alternate appearance feature and its purpose. See the official Apple Face ID setup guide for the current menu names on your iOS version.

Conclusion

Adding a second face takes two minutes: Settings, Face ID and Passcode, Set Up an Alternate Appearance, then two slow scans in good light. Use it first for your own second look, and only add another person if you fully trust them, because Face ID gives that face the keys to everything, including payments and banking apps. Removing a face later means a full Face ID reset and re-enrolling just the faces you want to keep.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many faces can Face ID store in total?

Two: your primary face and one alternate appearance. There is no way to add a third face. Families needing more access should rely on sharing the passcode with trusted members, or use separate user devices.

Can the second person use Apple Pay with their face?

Yes, if Face ID is enabled for Apple Pay. Face ID treats both enrolled faces identically, so the second person can approve payments, app purchases and Face ID logins exactly like the phone’s owner.

Why is there no ‘alternate appearance’ option on my iPhone?

The option appears only after Face ID has been set up at least once. On some older iOS versions the wording or position differs slightly. Make sure Face ID itself is on, update iOS, and look again in Settings, Face ID and Passcode.

Does adding a second face make Face ID less secure?

For your own second look, barely. For a second person, it doubles the number of people who can unlock the phone, and Apple’s stated false-match rate applies per face. Only enrol people you trust as much as yourself.

Can I delete just the second face and keep mine?

No. iOS stores both faces under one Face ID enrolment, and the only way to remove the alternate appearance is to reset Face ID entirely and set up the primary face again on its own.